One mans curse
by chance969
Summary: The police have no idea who is responsible for the gangland murders, so on a hunch, one rookie detective takes matters into their own hands. But Sho and Kei are far from rookie's in the game of death as the young cop soon finds out. Kei sees the game of cat & mouse as an enticing diversion but just who is the cat and who is the mouse?
1. Seemed like a good idea at the time

**Hi to all**

Just decided to branch out from my usual fantasy Fics and play around a bit.

**WARNING, WARNING, WARNING, WARNING**

This will be AU and most likely OOC as I don't know the characters well enough to have them IC.

There will no doubt be violence, bad language and more then likely sexual misconduct somewhere along the lines. I have no idea if there will be HET or Yaoi so when I get to it, I will leave a waring at the beginning of the chapter.

Hope you enjoy.

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**Chapter one...**

**Seemed like a good idea at the time.**

X

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The last deafening sounds of gunfire rung out then faded into sharp silence, leaving a slight ringing in the Sho's ears. With a quick glance down to see where he was placing his feet, the last one standing took in the scene. There was no movement that he could detect on the warehouse floor, bloodied bodies lay still but he knew there was still one left alive and relatively unhurt out there.

The snivelling man had dived for cover as soon as the fight started and had not ventured from his hiding place. Sho sent a questioning look to his friend, amused that he had sat high up on his advantage point and watched the whole fight without so much as lifting a finger to help. Just calmly giving advice when he thought it was needed. "Right…Left…Duck… Spin."

"You know Kei, anytime you want to actually, I don't know…..Help!" he sarcastically said. "Just jump right in."

A grin spread out over Kei's features as he looked down on his perturbed friend, and in a blur of motion he was beside the unfazed gunslinger.

"You don't need much help these days Sho, soon, you won't need me at all." he looked sadly up into his friends beautiful blue eyes, they instantly mirrored his own feelings, burning with the sadness of the sun.

"I will always need you Kei, we will be together till the day I die."

The words tore a new hole in the immortals heart, he just didn't want to think of existing without Sho in his life. It would be without meaning, without joy and he would wander aimlessly, wishing nothing but to join his companion….perhaps he would follow his friend in eternal slumber when the time came.

Kei's thoughts were drawn back by soft words. "There is one left Kei, he is for you." said Sho.

As much as Kei loathed to admit it, he was feeling the effects of so much blood laying around at his feet . Sho turned and headed over to where the immortal could smell fear, he was the last one still alive out of the gang and the vampire could sense his terrified presence easily. His cravings stirred and reluctantly he followed on the heels of his friend, coming upon the snivelling man still trying to hide.

With his whereabouts suddenly known, the pathetic creature's hands came up as if in prayer, begging the eternal being for mercy.

Kei would never hurt the innocent, and frankly he would rather have left this man well alone. The fat whimpering male had an unsavoury smell to him, but Sho had offered him up to Kei and he found it hard to deny his cravings right now.

Sho turned from watching, he knew it made Kei uncomfortable to be seen feeding even though he had witnessed it many times before. He leant against the wall checking his gun over, listening uninterested to the man begging his friend not to hurt him.

"No, no, no…please. I won't tell anyone I swear, I can give you money, girls, boys….whatever you want, just please no… Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Sho smirked at the pathetic pleadings, they would not save his retched life, these gang members were scum, the town would be a much better place after tonight. He checked his watch as the sounds of the struggle continued and he distracted himself by thinking of what he had to do tomorrow. 'I'm sleeping in, no questions asked,' he mused. 'and what will I have for breakfast?' He sent a quick glance to his friend, the fat man was past fighting now, not much longer to go.

'Maybe I'll stay home tomorrow, watch the news and see what becomes of tonight.'

Sho knew the police were doing everything they could to find out who was behind these killings, to him it was a game of cat and mouse, but just who was the cat and who was the mouse?

A minute later he smiled as Kei suddenly appeared at his side, looking satisfied but humbled. "Where to now?" Sho gleefully asked.

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The orange hued sunset cast an eerie haze over the derelict buildings of Mallepa; the lengthening shadows heralded the dying day and welcomed the birth of night. For one rookie officer, it was the start of another problematic shift. Just another one among many of late, these were confusing and worrying times in this unfamiliar country. So far away from the comfort of home, foreign town, foreign people, discomforting at best.

The evening was going well enough until they got a call, one they dreaded but expected. It had been two weeks since the last slayings and it was due, the senior partner sighed as he hung up the phone, looking over at the rookie Detective sifting through a pile of paperwork.

"Gabe, get your things, we got another one." he said.

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The novice sifted through the evidence that lay strewn around the blood soaked, run down building, trying to piece together the story of what went down here. Broken and bullet splattered bodies littered the floor; it was hard to find an area that was without a thin film of the crimson fluid.

The dead would sometimes tell the story of how they passed over from the living, but like so many times before, these remained silent. Zero witnesses and zero clues. No reasoning why so many were slain from one gang, while nothing remained of their enemies and their identity.

The only clue that there was another party involved so far was the different calibre shells that littered the floor, the violent ending of so many and always….always was there one body that was devoid of blood. It was a mystifying incident that should not happen; the complete loss of blood from a body just couldn't be explained. The heart would stop when it reached a critical point, and the life sustaining liquid would cease to flow, the remainder congealing in its host.

The perplexed officer knew that it would be the same here; they would find one body lacking completely, what lay pooling around all the rest. The senior partner of the two had mentioned it in the form of a joke a few times, but really, how else could it be explained? Vampire! It was never said with certainty, who would dare to suggest something so absurd in these already troubled times?

But there were foreboding puncture wounds on the neck of every victim that suffered this strange death, and the coroner concluded with all that it was the point of extraction. The victim bled completely dry, the rookie shivered at the thought of having someone bite down hard on the sensitive jugular and suck the life slowly away.

Was it tempting to picture? tightly held in some ones loving embrace as you succumbed to deaths charms? Their soft lips pressed firmly against your neck and yet you struggle, sharp incisures sinking in deep, and your powerless to stop them. You would cry out in pain, but they would not stop. You would beg them to "please don't," but still they wouldn't stop. Your resistance would slowly weaken until all you could do is hold them as the last drops of precious crimson passed over their lips and your heart would beat no more.

This was the stuff of scary bedtime stories, ridiculous myths that had no place in today's society, but the facts told a different story.

'_Where are you?' _Wondered the young detective. _'I know you're here somewhere.' _The unfortunate one would be dragged away from his fellow members, out of the carnage and bled dry. They were alive at the time, their wounds only miner apart from an occasional bullet to the extremities or bruising.

"Gabe, over here." yelled the senior. He was just as baffled as his young protégé as to the who, what and why with these cases, and he had been on the force for over 10 years now. He had worked his way up the ladder to arrive at his current position, Detective shin-Lo, and his subordinate offsider. Well that was a just a sore spot as far as the rest of his Department was concerned. Why the powers that be decided to bring in an outsider on this case rubbed them all the wrong way.

The rumours getting around the office was that the foreign officers father had something to do with it, five generations of detectives, many friends and many favours owed to them. Obviously, daddy had his hand in getting the young officer this case. Did they think their own detectives so un-worthy? Maybe the kids superior thought this would let them climb the ladder quickly, boy….did they get it wrong.

But it hit Lo the hardest, after-all; he was to be partnered with the unwelcome outsider.

But he had to admit, after six weeks being with the kid, he quite liked the plucky, just blurt it out attitude of the feisty rookie. And the biggest hurdle of them all, well he just let the young one handle that with attitude and that short-tempered disposition. As he and his fellow members of race and sex worked out quickly, don't piss her off, and you'll be fine.

As the young woman lowered herself down beside him, Lo gestured to the body.

"This one Gabe." he sighed.

She looked at the pale complexion staring into nothingness, did he fight till the end? Her earlier thoughts returned of a man holding her tightly as her life bled out, why did she envision it must be a man? To overpower one man, it must simply be another she deduced. Was he tall, dark and dare she even think it, handsome?

Maybe he was thin, creepy and ugly!

Gabe grabbed hold of the dead mans jaw and gently turned his head to the side, noticing the two puncture wounds over the jugular.

"Same as all the rest Shin," the young woman did a quick check of the corpse in front of her, "except, this one has no other injuries at all that I can see," she said a little confused at her observation. She looked to her superior for confirmation.

"No, nothing that's showing up yet, we'll have to wait for a more thorough examination, but this one met his end while being completely conscious. Not a pleasant way to go I'm sure." he added.

"You think." sniggered the girl.

She had a sense of humour that the older couldn't quite get the hang of, but slowly he was working it out. The young woman was self-confident, mouthy, short fused and had the skills to back up her, *I'll knock your fucking head off* threats that she brandished around like there would be no tomorrow. He had come to understand her way but the usual meek mannered women of his country were lost on this one. There was nothing meek or mild about her, it took some getting use to but after a while, he became oblivious to it. With her, it was like if someone was exposed to something on a regular basis, you become use to it's presence, and after a while, you don't notice it at all.

The girl picked up the dead mans hand and examined it closely. 'We need forensics in here, I want his nails checked for any trace of skin under them." she absently commented. "We could get lucky you never know." she scoffed at her own words; they had never gotten lucky with any victims. She sighed as she stood, stretching her back. This was just as useless as every other case that involved this said vampire, and frustrated by all the dead ends so far the girl walked out of silent carnage.

"Gabrielle!" she heard her name called but just wasn't interested at the moment to whatever the other had to say. It would no doubt come to nothing or just confuse her even more.

"Gabe!" the young man sidled up to her giving the girl a big smile and Gabrielle groaned.

"What ever it is Cheng I'm not buying." she moaned, and started off in the opposite direction to the young man.

"No, No really Gabbs, you'll want to hear this. There is a kid over here that said he seen who did it." Gabe swung around to face her fellow officer.

"Are you serious? Where?" she blurted and the young man smiled, turned on his heel and beckoned her to follow.

Cheng led her away towards an alley and as tempted as the girl was, she had all sorts of visions of getting mugged down there.

"Cheng this had better be for real." she sent him a glare and her hand wavered over the pistol she had on her hip.

The young man nodded enthusiastically. "He's just here Gabe." and as the girl squinted in the direction he pointed, she noticed a boy about 9 or 10 standing off to the side against the wall.

Gabrielle tried not to let her excitement burst forth; this was the first witness to ever come forth. Just wether he was a reliable witness remained to be seen, being a child they tended to have inaccurate accounts, and huge imaginations.

"Hi there." she tried to give the boy her best smile and sweetest greeting.

"My name is Gabby." kneeling down on the ground about four foot away from the boy, not crowding him and giving the youth the comfort of knowing he could make an escape if he felt threatened in any way. The girl had been around long enough to learn the children of the slums behaviour, delving into her pocket Gabe pulled out the best form of currency in the city, and held the Mars-Bar up at eye level to the boy.

"Do you know what this is?" again she gave the bedraggled boy a smile, as he nodded vigorously.

"Would you like it?" asked Gabe, and slightly held it out towards the child. His focus was intently on the candy-bar and she could tell he wanted it desperately. She would have liked to take him away and given him a good solid meal but it wouldn't have the same pull as the chocolate in her hand.

The boy reluctantly reached out for the bar, and just before his grubby little fingers wrapped around it, Gabe spoke.

"I would love to give this to you, but only if you could tell me something first." her tone sweet and calm, as she retracted the candy from view, the forlorn youth's disappointment clearly showing on his face.

"If you can tell me what you saw, that is, who you saw, going into that building tonight, you can have this." Gabe brought forth the Mars-Bar again, offering it to the boy.

"Can you do that?" she asked of him. Again the youth nodded, eyes glued to the proffered chocolate.

Before either officers could react the boy snatched the bar out of her hand, wheeled around and bolted, Gabe yelled out in frustration.

"God-damn-it." as she stood, eyes following the little shit as he fled down the ally-way. Officer Cheng close on his heels for about fifty metres before the boys speed left him for dead and he dejectedly gave up.

Humbly he walked back to stand before the pissed-off woman, puffing with exertion. Gabe watched the wheezing man and her anger dissipated into humour.

"You are so un-fit Cheng, look at your winded old ass, you only ran like 20 metres and your fucked!" she accused him. The gasping man looked down the alleyway and pointed.

"Rubbish Gabe, that's got to be at least 200 metres long." he puffed out in his defence and his comrade laughed.

"Yeah but you didn't run right to the end!" she countered, took one last long look down the lane for any sight of the boy and turned to walk back.

Cheng was not one to let his manhood go undefended. "I ran all the way to the dumpster." he huffed, flicking his thumb back down the alley.

Gabe did a quick turn of her head to see the dumpster he was referring to. "Bullshit Cheng!" she laughed and again looked down the lane. "You went as far as the first landing before your busted ass gave up." she mocked the young man.

Their taunting continued the whole way back to the cars where her senior partner waited. He had to laugh at the bickering going on between them as they approached. Cheng was one of the few who didn't have any reservations about her had befriended the girl quickly, he could tell they had a certain amount of fondness for one another which pleased him, Gabrielle needed a friend.

"At least I gave chase Gabs, you didn't even get out of neutral." he chided her. Gabe lifted up her foot for him to see. "Can't run in heels."

Cheng laughed at her excuse. "They can't even be classed as heels you liar, they are flatter then mine." he teased.

"OH, and you owe me a Mars-Bar to." she squinted her eyes and pointed at him as she climbed into the car, slumping down in the passenger's seat and smiling to her senior partner.

"Don't even ask." she said before he could open his mouth. "Just another one of Cheng's great idea's." and that was enough for Shin, he laughed as he started the car. The paperwork for this would keep them busy for the next three days and he had already had enough of these vampire cases.

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Gabe sat at her desk in contemplation, twirling a pencil around between her fingers as she thought. All these gang slayings were causing her brain to melt, no one was that careful that they never left any clues. Or at least left them a thread of evidence to go by but these were frustratingly blank. It had been just over a week ago since the last slayings and once again they had nothing to lead them to someone or something.

It was 11pm and her shift would be over soon, Gabe pulled her dark hair out of her face, her blue eyes checked the clock again for the millionth time in the last hour.

"Gabe!" the close voice snapped her out of her revere; she turned quickly towards Shin hoping he had some interesting news to tell.

"Go home Gabe, your making me nervous." he could see the girls agitation growing by the minute and as there was only an hour to go he wanted peace and quiet. Not a huffing, jittering, antsy young woman distracting him from his inner calm.

The wide smile he was rewarded with was well worth it anyway, as the young woman grabbed her coat and bolted for the door with a grateful. "Thanks boss."

Gabe had a routine after each shift, and she never faltered from this routine.

It went something like this:

*Leave office with a Thank god that is over and kiss my ass attitude.

*Jump in car and head straight to her favourite 24 hour café.

*Order the biggest, strongest cappuccino they made and the richest most sickening cake they had to offer and try to forget all about the previous ten hours with glee.

This night would be no exception, as Gabe pulled up she noticed a boy standing in front of the café but didn't look at him again. There were lots of homeless kids that wandered around the streets, one blurring into another. But as she jammed her keys into her pocked she sent another quick look his way and halted in her tracks, it was the candy thief from the other night. Gabe slowly approached the boy not sure if his presence here was just a coincidence or intentional.

"Hi there, again." she gave the child a small wave and lent down to his height. "Remember me?"

The boy nodded, standing there as if expecting something and Gabe thought he could wait all he liked if he expected another Mars-bar.

They both stood there eyeing one another and when it was apparent that he had nothing to say, she straightened and turned towards the café.

"I came to tell you who I saw." said a small voice and Gabe quickly twisted back and knelt before the child.

"Really?" she couldn't keep her sarcasm from coming through but being a child he probably wouldn't pick it up anyway.

He nodded his grubby little head in confirmation. "I can even show you where they live." he added. Gabe was floored; this was too good to be true, so why was she believing it?

"But it will cost you." said the slimy little swindler. Gabe was not about to get caught by the child again.

"And what's the cost." she enquired, raising her eyebrow in anticipation of the price.

The youth held out his flat hand out, palm up. "Candy bars and lots ovem." he demanded.

Gabe looked at the outstretched, expectant hand. Chewing on her bottom lip she decided to go with it.

"Wait here." she said and marched straight into the café. The child watched the woman. She was a westerner that was for sure, and as far as his youthful mind was concerned she wasn't bad to look at. She wasn't fat and she wasn't ugly so he guessed she was alright, but he liked her eyes the most, they were blue, like the ocean.

When the woman came back out he was awed with her assortment of candies, she had an armful.

Gabe smiled at the look on the boys face. "Ok, I will give you a few now, and the rest when you tell me who they are, and where they live." she told him sternly. "Deal."

The boy nodded gain. "Deal." he muttered, quickly grabbing the first of the offered candy and pocketing it. Gabe watched him, half expecting the boy to wolf down on the bars but he simply concealed them away and looked at her. Gabe began to wonder if this was just a game to the boy.

"Names." she asked him, the boy crept forward till his chubby little face was beside her and he whispered in her ear.

"Kei….Sho." was all he said as he returned to his place.

Gabe slowly nodded to the boy. "And do they have a last name?" she asked, the boy shook his head.

"No last name." she mumbled. "Ok, what about an address."

The boy suddenly grabbed her hand, startling her momentarily.

"Come, I show you, not far this way." and he pulled her long after him.

The young woman followed the boy for three blocks till he came to an intersection and stopped; Gabe looked around at the many housing complexes that ringed the crossroads. Some appeared decent while others quite seedy and she looked to the boy for their next move.

"That one." he said and pointed to the block directly across the road.

The young woman sighed. "Why do I get the feeling you sending me on a wild goose chase?"

The child held out his hand and having made a deal, she felt obliged to hold to it, Gabe loaded the boy's arms up with candy.

"Where are they little man." she asked the smiling swindler.

The boy sent her a short smile. "That block, room 223, but they are not there right now." and once again the child fled in an instant.

Gabe watched him go. "Well that's really good to know." she mumbled to his disappearing form.

Gabby knew she would be in trouble if found out, but it was late at night and if the pairs nightly routine was true then they would be out killing a shit load of not so nice people right now. She had to wonder at the intelligence of removing these two from the streets; I mean really, they were doing humanity a favour.

The thugs that were on the receiving end of these guys killing sprees were some of the vilest pricks that were around, Gabe would have rather given them a medal, but it wasn't her call.

The cautious girl made her way over to the block of units, not the best in Mallepa but certainly not the worst by far. The killing game must be a profitable one these days.

Trying not to look like a cop was one of the hardest things to do, the more you tried not to, the more you did. And the result would be half of the occupants of a set of units scurrying away before she made it thorough the entrance. And being a foreigner only made her stick out further, even when a good portion of the refugees were not of Asian decent.

Being so late proved a good thing in her cover, most were in there homes, asleep or trying to be. Gaining entry went without a hitch; she quickly scanned the names and numbers off to the side of the entrance. More then a little pleased that no one was around to raise the alarm or confront the single lone female that was obviously sneaking into the complex.

Gabrielle made her way as quietly as she could up the stairs the fifth level, her eyes darting around, searching every corner of the stairwell. Each darkened shadow caused her to momentarily flinch and she started have serious thoughts about coming back tomorrow in the day light, but that would defeat the purpose of her sneaky little spy mission while they were out.

The door in question was right in front of her. 'Should she do it? Just a quick look around, don't touch anything, just look and get the hell out.' she thought to herself.

Well she was here, may as well just do it. The suspicious looking girl delved into her pocket, bringing forth her faithful lock picking tool, nail files were the best invention since sliced bread as far as she was concerned.

After two minutes and a quite a few choice words the door clicked open, Gabe peered into the dimly lit interior, surprised at the décor.

"Hmph, killers with good taste, who would have seen that one coming?" she mumbled to herself.

The girl moved in and shut the door behind her, pulling out her Glock and holding it slightly out in front as she moved in deeper.

The light from another room let her see where she was going and she moved towards the source, quickly looking in Gabrielle noted the amazing circular fish tank in the centre of the room. Transfixed by the colours swirling around in the tank she approached.

Eager hungry mouths opened and closed inside their watery home, hopeful that they would be showered with those yummy flakes that mysteriously flooded the waters surface whenever the biped animal came close to them.

"Well look at you lot." she absently said, her fear lessening at the tranquil sight in front of her. "Your not blood sucking fishies by any chance are you?" she grinned at the harmless goldfish, imagining them turning into raging murderous piranha.

"No of course not, just your masters hey." she couldn't help herself, there was just something about those pleading looks and hungry little mouths that caused her to do it.

Gabrielle holstered her gun and reached over to the stand, grabbing the fish food, undid the lid and sprinkled more then a good dose of flakes into the tank.

"There, don't tell on me and we're all sweet ok." she smiled at the wet smacking sound they made as they greedily consumed as much as possible in the shortest amount of time off the waters surface.

"You know, I've already fed them tonight." Gabe's heart froze in fear at the voice behind her, in an instant her hand was on the holster as she turned towards the sound. But just as quick, he had her. The man rendered her almost immobile with one hand tightly gripping around her throat while the other fisted cruelly in Gabe's hair, dragging her head backwards and causing her to cry out in pain.

Gabrielle thought it was a bad decision on his behalf, that or he didn't know about the gun she barley managed to pull out and point at his ribcage.

Then Gabe understood his cockiness and lack of concern at her firearm, as she felt the gentle, cold pressure of a barrel resting against her temple. His accomplice was right there with him, gun cocked and finger on the trigger. She had no illusions that he wouldn't pull it, they had proven time and time again that they were killers.

Wether they were cop killers or not remained to be seen.

She chanced a fearful look to the one that held the gun on her, his calm eyes seemed to almost smile in amusement at her situation. He was shorter then the one that held her and his hair an unusual shade of blond for one of his race. He seemed less aggressive, more self assured then the auburn haired one who had her in a death grip. She found it disturbing to think him cute considering he had her in quite a panicked state of circumstance.

"Nice and easy young lady, hand me your gun." he serenely spoke, his words were level, no hint of any terror that she herself was feeling right now, and Gabe realised he was the one that had spoken in the first place.

The nervous woman swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly withdrew the gun from the mans ribs and raised the black Glock to the blond, barrel pointing harmlessly to the roof.

Her fingers opened wide and she surrendered her best form of defence to him, he quickly took it with a smile on his lips and kept his gun pressed against her temple. Then just to add insult to injury, pressed the nozzle of her own weapon firmly against her cheek.

Gabe's terrified gaze shifted from the double barrels menacing her face and returned to the silent suppressor in front of her, he had yet to talk and refused to let go of the cruel grip, his ice-cold blue glare told her he was in no hurry to either. Another mysterious factor on the men's features, their eyes. Not the usual colour for their race, like hers they were blue.

And his were locked on hers, unblinking and chilling in their intensity. They seemed to drill beyond her external barrier and penetrate deep into her character, into her mind. Making his decision on her worth and intentions that she was powerless to stop.

The cute blond who had her gun spoke again. "Tell me, who sent you and what for?" he queried.

Gabe's eyes darted around the face of her blue-eyed captor, what should she tell them? How much should she divulge of her errant mission? If she told them that nobody knew she was here, would they kill her knowing full well that they would get away with her murder?

Well they had gotten away with murder many times over now, and they were no closer to being caught then before.

Gabe decided on honesty to try and save her skin. "Detective Gabrielle Murdock, and I'm here following a lead to the gangland murders." she hesitantly replied.

His surprise was instantly noticeable, they seemed almost relieved to hear she was a police officer, maybe the boy lied about their involvement in the gunfights.

"A Detective." scoffed the gun wielding blond. "You're the police?" she turned her head slightly his way to see him smiling at her, clearly amused about the fact. Was it because she was a woman?

She knew their opinion on what the females of her nationality were suppose to be, whores, wanton and shameless with no respect for themselves or anyone else. Gabrielle looked at it from her side of the equator, she was free to say what she wanted and when she wanted to say it. The women of her country were restricted by no ones idea's on how they thought they should behave, they were free from restraint, free from oppression, free from tradition. She could see how some of the men of this country would see her rebellious nature as unbefitting because of what they were use to.

But that fact aside, Gabe felt her hackles rise at his haughtiness, so she sent him a daring glare. "Check my pocket." she challenged.

A slow smile spread across the blonds lips as he gazed at her and the request, his eyes moving leisurely down over her form to her hip pockets.

Finally he removed the guns from her face, un-cocking both triggers and holstering them down the front of his belt.

She could still feel the effects after the cold barrel was removed, and slowly her hand came up to timidly rub the indentations on her cheek.

Gabrielle looked back to the blue-eyed man still holding her tightly, his scrutiny continued throughout the whole process. 'He really did have unusual eyes.' she thought, but never did his restrictive grasp waver on her.

Her mind wandered dangerously, was this the so called vampire? Would he hold her so forcefully as he bit into her neck? Would his arms encircle her as she yielded to his hunger? Gabrielle tried not to stare into those blue depths of his but failed, she had not struggled once in his grip but still he held her so fiercely. He left her feeling totally unable to resist his strength, instead she rested her hands on his slender hips, gently, hopefully giving the impression of compliance.

The nervous girl felt the shorter one move in closer, but she refused to acknowledge that their near proximity caused her discomfort. His hand forced its way in between her and her captor and plunged into her front hip pocket.

Gabrielle's eyes widened in fright as he fumbled around getting awfully close to sensitive areas, and she had to wonder what the hell he was up to. Then his fingers seemed to slip purposely lower, delving over her folds, then she caught on to him.

"BACK POCKET! She squealed in alarm. "It's in my right, back pocket." her chest heaved in fright and Gabrielle tried in vain to remove his hand from their exploration by jiggling her hips away but it stayed securely deep and unmovable. But fortunately his movements stilled and she sent him a nervous look out of the corner of her eye, noticing the smug look still plastered on his face.

Then without removing his left hand from her front, he brought his right hand up to her butt and pushed his fingers down into back pocket.

This was about as close to being the meat in the sandwich that Gabe thought one ever could be. And to her horror, her bottom lip started to twitch in nervous agitation at her situation.

She felt his fingers close over her badge and to her relief, he pulled both hands out at the same time, studying the gold coloured emblem with a criticising eye and nodded slightly.

Blondie's brows arched in surprise. "So she is Sho." he simply said, and her gaze returned to blue eyes in front of her. 'So this one with the death grip was Sho, well the boy was right about one thing at least." she thought.

He released his hold on her and with a sudden shove, pushed her away from him like touching her was a repulsive thing. Gabrielle stumbled back a few feet before she halted her backward momentum, eyeing them both in uncertainty. What would they do now they knew she was a cop?

The blond, presumably Kei, never re-drew his guns on her, which meant they thought her less of a threat now then before. _'So cops weren't on the menu, nice to know that fact.' _she thought. Either that or they knew that they had nothing on them.

"What are you doing here girl?" his accusing tone brought her back from her thoughts as he went over to examine her handy work on feeding his fish. A crease crossed his brow at her over indulgence, well she had felt sorry for them.

"I told you, I'm following a lead." she hesitantly replied. What could she come up with at a moments notice to make them believe they were not her targets for now.

"Someone said that you two might know something." she added.

'_that sounded plausible.' _she thought.

This Kei, gave a short laugh and turned towards her, slowly he ambled back to stand before the wary girl.

"And…who told you we might know something?" he purred, deliberately circling her. Gabrielle was quickly becoming frightened by their confidence, she had to keep in mind that they had no fear for their actions so far in the slightest, if they indeed were the ones.

All her past movie experiences of vampires came to mind, Nosferatu came in many chilling forms. Some were normal looking humans until their fangs came out, others were repulsive bat like creatures that caused sheer terror at the sight of them. Then there was the possibilities that these guys were just wacko's who got a thrill out of everyone thinking they were vampires.

Her thoughts returned to the cute blonds question, he was right in front of her now, his eyes searched her for the truth of her words.

"Um, just a street kid, but he was pretty vague on details, so it was just a hunch." Gabe tried to keep it as casual as possible, no pointing the finger directly at them.

Kei squinted unbelievingly at her, "So, on the vague reports of some street kid, you break into our home, and snoop around to your little hearts delight?" he was so close she could feel his warm breath on her face as he spoke.

'_Oh yeah, there was that fact to.' _she thought, and fidgeted as she sought another excuse.

Gabrielle looked over to the silent blue eyed man again, his obvious disdain for her had not diminished yet, he leant against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest as he scrutinized her still.

"Yeah well, your fish looked hungry." she sarcastically commented, returning her look to Kei and biting her bottom lip in frustration at the mediocre excuse to break in.

Kei grinned. "Did they now?" he was so close, so hopelessly, uncomfortably close. Gabe pulled her gaze away from him and lowered her head. _'I'll be damned if I want to have a staring competition with this guy.' _she thought, and he was on to her for sure, she just knew it.

"Yep, real hungry." she added the futile answer in nevertheless.

The cute blond nodded, "Especially for blood sucking fishies." he quoted her words back to her.

Gabrielle's head shot up to meet his gaze, her heart thudded away at a great rate of knots in her chest. 'Oh sweet Jesus he heard that.' her mouth worked open and closed a few times but her excuses had run out. 'Now how the hell can I get out of this one?' she wondered.

The frightened girl decided, weapon or no weapon, she wanted out. Gabrielle lowered her head down, her eyes darted towards the doorway, just to confirm it had no obstructions, and without hesitation, she unexpectedly rammed the heel of her palm up into Kei's nose and instantaneously turned and bolted for the door.

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	2. Vanilla and Coconuts

**Well at last it's here and I hope you enjoy.**

**Thank you to those that reviewed, I appreciate the time you take to let me know what you think.**

**Soubi at docomo: ****Thank you for reviewing this Fic again and I'm glad you like the bloodsucking fishies, I couldn't resist to making him a bit cheeky with her. **

**Eadwine63: ****Thank you my dear, Yes, Kei is playing with the poor girl, but I like this mischievous side to him. I'd like to think he had a slightly ominous side and seeing I'm making him OOC then I just might indulge myself a little.**

**Rose444100: ****I glad you think the first chapter was well written, hopefully I'll deliver with the second one as well. I hope you enjoy this update and thanks again for your wonderful review.**

**WARNING, WARNING, WARNING, WARNING**

**This is an AU story and the characters are OOC. There is also a OC in the form of a female detective so if this isn't your thing then don't bother reading any further.**

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Sho absently watched the cop as Kei moved in, pressuring her with his closeness. He could see the girl's nervousness in the slight trembling of her lips, the wringing motions of her hands and the way she continuously moved from one foot to the other.

The young detective was in very uneasy state and Sho wondered if the officer would act on her predicament.

When the woman finally did, it was something unexpected. She hit out at Kei, driving the heel of her palm up into the immortals nose.

Sho's eyes went wide and he jolted upright, momentarily stunned at the attack from the female, he quickly looked to his friend with concern as the girl fled from the room, hesitating for only a split second, then he was after her.

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Gabe had the briefest moment when she thought that blessed freedom would be hers, but just as the front door came within sight, strong arms wrapped around her waist, swirling her around in her forward momentum and flinging her back towards the illuminated fish room.

Spreading her arms out wide, she caught her forced, headlong rush on the doorway frame, only to feel a hand on the middle of her back, and the silent one forcefully pushed her through.

Gabrielle flew straight into the iron tight arms of Kei, she gasped in fright as her eyes looked up into his. They were full of fierce anger and she regretted her actions immediately, thinking painful repercussions would ensue, but he simply held her against him.

A gentle flow of crimson liquid trickled from his nose down to his lips and his moist tongue came forward to swallow the excess.

His words were dangerous, threatening and the detective feared for her life yet again this night.

"That, was either a very brave, or very, very stupid thing to do!" he growled and Gabe felt one of his hands wander slowly up her back and tightly entwine in her hair.

Gabrielle had never begged for anything before, but right now, it seemed a reasonable thing to do, seeing as it was her life that was in jeopardy at the moment.

"Please don't," pleaded the nervous girl. "I'm expected back at base, they will come looking for me, they know I came here!" she tensely rambled.

She noticed Kei's beautiful eyes soften as he gazed down on her. He brought his bottom lip up over his top, sucking at the blood spilling down, swallowing it before he spoke. "You know what I think," he absently said. "I think that no one knows you're here. I think, that you are all alone right now, in a house that you broke into and with two men that you assaulted. That's what I think."

Gabe looked to the smeared crimson on his lips as she tried to find the fault in his reasoning, one could see it that way and in the end it would just fall down to her word against theirs.

With his hand still fisting in her hair, Kei gave the girl a slight jerk.

"Please I didn't mean it, I'm sorry!" the young woman started to panic as he then pulled her head back slowly, revealing her throat to him.

"Now tell me, what did you mean about my fish?" he purred down to her, moving his mouth in closer to her neck.

Gabrielle was as close to panicked as she had ever been in her life; all the visions of those murdered men came unbidden to her mind as she swallowed down her fears. Their last tortured moments flashing unwelcoming to the forefront, what violated and agonising ends they came to. Is this how she would end? Right here and right now, in his arms?

She didn't want to die like this, Gabrielle always thought she would live out her life, have kids and grow fat and old like her grand parents did.

The young woman was vaguely aware of Sho moving in beside them, just who was the so-called vampire out of the two? Then her mind wrapped around a scary idea, maybe they both were.

"I don't know what your talking about." she tried on the bluff for size, her words coming out in almost a squeak.

Kei angled her face up towards his, she stared into his blue depths, separated by barely a whisker and his intoxicating breath felt hot against her lips but his tone was sarcastic.

"You called my goldfish bloodsuckers lady, care to clarify that for me?"

Gabe's eyes darted nervously to the figure at her side, the man hadn't uttered a single word through the whole ordeal so far. 'Maybe he's mute, why am I even thinking about him right now? God how the hell am I going to get out of this?' she thought as a multitude of reasons went in and out of her neve-wracked mind.

Her mouth worked open and closed a few times, patiently waiting for her brain to come up with a plausible explanation but it chose this moment to abandon her to fate.

"Um…..no, not really." replied the nervous girl.

Kei smiled at her response, the young detective had pluck and for some reason he enjoyed playing with her. She was, dare he say, nice to have in his arms in such a vulnerable state.

He opened his mouth and lent down to the girl, running his bloodied lips softly over her trembling ones, smearing his own blood over her mouth and cheek.

The nervous woman let out a started squeak at the contact but she didn't pull away, her body stiffened in his grip and her small hands gripped at his back but it was purely a reflex action to his intimate touch.

Kei experimented with the detective, pressing his lips against her quivering ones with more pressure and he forced them open.

The immortal felt her fingers digging into his back as her mouth opened to him, he realised the girl was probably too scared to deny him or respond with aggression anymore, he was taking advantage of her state but he wanted to taste her fear.

His tongue snaked forward to run lightly over her bottom lip and he loved the feel of her fearful moan reverberating into his mouth.

Kei felt a strong, firm hand wrap around his forearm, breaking the spell of the moment.

He pulled back from the kiss and turned towards the man at his side, seeing the concerned eyes of Sho on him.

"Kei, she'll turn if your not careful." said his friend and the immortal looked back to the girl. His blood on her mouth was indeed too close. With his long, white sleeve, Kei wiped the crimson fluid from her face, his thumb rested against her lips as he noticed they remained slightly stained pink.

He laughed in her startled face, "do you think the two of us could kill all those men, no, I don't think so." he grinned. "It takes something otherworldly to kill so many, but remain untouched themselves. Maybe, they are already dead, isn't that what they say?"

Gabrielle knew her eyes would have been as big as saucers as she gazed up unmoving into his, he held her captivated, his bloodied mouth seemed sensual as he spoke so close to her lips. She felt the heat rise up to her cheeks at the thought of them pressing in against hers came unbidden to her mind, and the fact that she wanted to feel them again.

"We read the newspapers and I've heard about this vampire that's supposedly killing all these men. Is that why you came here? You think I'm this, vampire killer? His words ghosting over her face, left her frozen in his grasp but his next words chilled her to the core. "Well let's find out shall we."

Kei gripped her hair tighter and pulled her head back to an almost painful angle, "is this what you expected?" he asked of her as she cried out. "One bite to the throat and your blood will flow freely."

Kei opened his mouth wide and brought his teeth down on her exposed skin, but instead of biting, he let his lips close softly over the throbbing vein and smeared more of his blood over her neck.

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Gabrielle could feel the sticky fluid covering her throat, the scent of his blood was filling her nostrils and she wished like Christ that she'd never hit him to start with.

All that came from her was a whimper as his mouth closed over her exposed throat but his lips turned soft, gentle and a shudder ran through her whole body to the very tips of her very being.

"See, no teeth detective," he whispered against her skin and she realised with a start how tightly she was holding him, but Gabrielle never let him go. She was desperate to hold onto life and for some reason, holding him was the same thing at the moment.

Sho silently watched as the two stayed tightly clinging to one another, he had never seen Kei this way with anyone but him and he wasn't sure about interrupting the embrace, it seemed like such an intimate moment.

He had a flash of panic beforehand as he watched his friends bloodied mouth descend on hers, he knew Kei's blood was the turning point for his species and Sho wasn't sure if the vampire had all intentions of turning the girl. But the immortal was always opposed to the idea of turning anyone, so all Sho could do was place his hand on his friends arm and hope to pull him back.

'The immortal was staring down into the girl's eyes and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading out over his lips. "So what do you think detective, am I a vampire?" he amusingly asked.

Sho watched her closely, his protectiveness of the vampire foremost on his thoughts and he hoped that another punch wasn't heading his friend's way, and then she seemed to rally.

"I think, that I'm going back to the office, get a heap of my friends, come back here, arrest your sorry ass and drag you back to the station." the girls voice as well as her temper was rising with every word. "Where I'll make damn sure you stay locked up for a week, and have every orifice plugged, by every local criminal element that I can find and lock up with you. That's what I think?" she yelled.

Kei smiled at her outburst but kept her in his tight embrace, and for some reason she still wasn't struggling to free herself yet, women were hard to understand.

He dipped his head towards her and opened his lips but pulled up just short of making contact. His smile turned to a soft chuckle when she let out a slight gasp but opened her lips in expectation of the kiss.

The immortal licked his bloodied mouth clean again before he spoke.

"I don't think so; you have nothing on us but my blood, which you caused. And if I was, this, vampire killer. I'm sure I wouldn't mind having you for desert tonight?

They both watched the uncertain emotions flitting across her face, they were at a stalemate here and they all knew it.

Kei straightened up and released the girl; she instantly took a few steps back putting as much distance as she dared between them.

"You're insane," blurted Gabrielle,

"Maybe," said Kei, "but if you break into my house again, I promise, I will be feeding YOU, to my fish, understand me girl?" He raised his hand out to her and opened it. Her gun and badge lay there in offering and not hesitating a second Gabrielle grabbed for them.

"Perfectly," she grumbled, "can I go now Vlad?"

Kei laughed at her gall, "go, and don't come back again, unless, it's a personal visit." he added with amusement.

Sho watched as the woman made a hasty retreat out the door, slamming it behind her. "Are you sure that was wise letting her go, she's a cop that's on our tail?"

The uncaring vampire wiped up the blood on his face with his sleeve, "believe me Sho, that girl won't be telling anyone what happened here tonight." Kei tugged off the shirt and seemingly unconcerned, walked into his room. Sho had his doubts about his friends reasoning and anxiously sat down on the sofa worrying on his bottom lip, the thought of cops descending on them played over in his mind.

"What if she does, they will be watching us Kei." he looked up as the vampire came out of his room in a clean set of clothes and dropped down beside his troubled friend.

"What's on your mind Sho?" he huffed.

"What's on my mind is if they take us in." sighed the man, "what will you do Kei, you know, to eat?"

The immortal grinned at his friend and drew him into a friendly embrace as they sat there. "You worry too much, it's a good thing what's happened here tonight, and we know to watch for her now."

They sat there quietly; each in their own thoughts and suddenly Sho spoke up. "Kei, what did you think of her?"

The immortal sighed as he thought back on his encounter with the girl. "She seems like a real pain in the ass." he finally said and they chuckled at his observation. "But she smelt really nice, like vanilla and coconut." he added.

Sho thought about the girl and the image of the hit she gave his friend came to mind. "Hey Kei, you should have seen your head fly backwards when she punched you." and Sho burst out into laughter.

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Gabrielle's legs were shaking so badly she nearly fell several times as she made her tremulous way down the flights of stairs. It wasn't until the girl got to the bottom that she remember there was a damned elevator.

'Get it together Gabe,' she said to herself, 'you made it out in one piece so settle the fuck down.'

The journey home was a blur to her; all she could think about was the idiotic decision that put her in harms way.

"Stupid…stupid, stupid, stupid," she chastised herself as Gabe climbed into her car.

'I should ring Shin and tell him what the freak had done! Are you insane?' she thought. 'Shin would kick my ass if I told him I went there and broke in….think, think, think.'

"Oh God-damn-it don't think," Gabe blurted out into the interior of her little car, "Just get your sorry ass home."

The traumatised woman started the engine with shaky fingers and pulled out heading straight for her apartment but her mind refused to concentrate on the road ahead. It kept going back and replaying the encounter repeatedly.

It wasn't until she closed the front door of her little flat behind her that Gabe took a deep breath and relaxed a bit.

'Have I made a huge mistake tonight?' Gabe let out a snort. 'Fuck yes I had made a huge mistake, I shouldn't have listened to that kid for starters.' she thought. 'Then, I broke into their house….I can't believe I did that, what the hell was I thinking? Mistake number two.'

"Oh yes, then you got caught Gabe," said the disgusted girl out loud, she felt like such an idiot. Vampires, really how could anyone believe in such a stupid fairytale?

In a huff of self-pity, the detective wandered into her bathroom, slapping on the light and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"You sick son-ova-bitch," she yelled as the young woman took in her image. His dried blood was smeared over her neck and cheek and the sight of it sent her into renewed panic. Gabrielle frantically undressed and turned on the shower, diving under as soon as it hit a tolerable temperature.

Gabe grabbed for her loofa and shower gel, a vanilla and coconut scented favourite of hers and scrubbed away all traces of him from her body. But as the sponge glided over her neck, she thought about how his lips had touched the very same place, the way they felt as they softly closed over her skin. That she had thought he could be a vampire, really, how erotically ridiculous.

The way he had held her to him, thinking back, the woman was finding it quite stimulating. Gabe had felt the firmness of his body against her softer parts….. "Oh for god's sake get your mind out of the gutter Gabrielle!" she told herself, 'why the hell am I thinking about him this way?' She wasn't that desperate that a kiss, if that's what you would have even called it, felt that fantastic.

But her rebellious mind went straight back to the kiss, it was somewhat erotic be held be a handsome stranger so thoroughly and have your lips taken that way.

"See, no teeth detective," he had said to her. God she was such a twit to think he was some bloodsucker, Gabe stuck her head under the water, letting her black locks fall down and form a dark wet curtain to hide her face.

Then with a start her whole body jolted, pulling her hair back out of the way, her wide eyes searching the bathroom tiles in front of her.

"Kei, she'll turn if you're not careful." He had spoken… the silent one had spoken. "Holy crap!" she blurted out, "you did speak." Gabe let out an amused huff as she recalled his words, but then the meaning of them settled on her. What the hell was that suppose to mean? She'll turn if you're not careful, turn to what? Her mind was whirling again as certain scenarios played out, the implications of what his words could mean.

Gabe fumbled, "she'll turn, she'll turn if he wasn't careful…..what, what did you mean?

The detective in her tried to piece it together, "No…..couldn't be, that's not possible whispering denials to herself. Surely, he didn't mean

Gabe would become a…...god she was even afraid to say the word now, Vampire?

What did she know about a human becoming a bloodsucker anyway? Some myths revolved around the bite of a Vampire being the turning, but if that were the case then all those men that had been bitten and sucked dry would have become Vampires themselves. Some of them were still waiting to be claimed in the morgue and no one else in the city had suffered this strange death, only the gangland slayings involved the said Vampire killer.

"Blood!" she said aloud, "his blood is the turning point…..oh fuck, oh fuck," Gabrielle remembered his blood on her lips and nervously grabbed her toothbrush and past, dousing the bristles with as much of the white and red striped cream as possible, she scrubbed her mouth almost raw.

With her skin spotlessly pink and her gums virtually bleeding the young woman left her shower, she studied herself in the mirror, lifting up her top lip to check if her fangs were growing.

"No fangs Gabe," she reassured herself, happily dressing in her pyjamas and making her way to bed. Today was one of those days that would be filed in the *What the fuck happened* file, She would find out what he was, that man was going to be tailed like he'd never been tailed before she decided. Maybe next time she went to his place, it would be safer to do it in the daytime.

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Gabrielle, in her usual ritual, wandered into the station at the start of her shift, scoffing down a packet of potato chips and sipping on an iced coffee. Feeling far better then last night, the anxious girl had spent most of early morning in thought, sleep eluded her completely. Gabe would make some excuse to Shin and try to find her targets, yes, they were high on her hit list so to speak.

But as the distracted girl got closer, she suddenly noticed her boss talking to several people in a serious manner.

'Oh lord, please don't let it involve my little visit to the Vamps house last night,' she silently preyed.

The young detective inconspicuously made her way up behind Shin, stuffing more chips innocently into her mouth and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"If this bust is going to work, no one but us must know of it, I can't tell you how important this is," said Shin. Someone cleared their throat and all eyes turned to look at the girl standing behind Shin.

"Hello Gabrielle," said her superior.

"Hi Shin," she said through a mouthful of potato chips, "what's happening?"

He smiled at her uncouth manner and quickly deflected the young officer. "Oh nothing, just another local problem we're attempting to fix, nothing for you to worry about," they all stood there in expectation of the girl leaving but she flopped down on the closest table and invited herself into the mix.

Gabrielle would normally get the hint that *Local problem* meant it didn't involve her but she wanted to make sure it didn't include her two new…..friends. For some reason, she wanted to study the man more, the whole *him being Vampire* thing had her intrigued now.

"So, whose the local?" she queried and reached for her iced coffee, Gabe watched them all watching her, as she wrapped her lips around the straw and sucked down the last of the milky drink.

Cheng had to laugh at the mannered deficient girl, with all eyes on her, she made that god-awful slurping sound as she sucked up the dregs of her drink.

"Shin patiently waited till she'd finished and lent in towards her, "We're going after Lee," he whispered, Gabe's eyes went wide in surprise. "When," she swallowed quickly. Her superior studied her face uncertain what she would do but Gabrielle was one of only a handful of people that he trusted.

"Tonight…..and no, your not coming," he told her.

"Oh I'm coming Shin." she added absently dumping her things on the table. "If you don't let me come, I'll just follow you anyway," she added. He let out an exasperated breath, "Fine Gabrielle, but your there as a lookout and that's all, no exceptions."

Gabe felt triumphant, "Yeah sure, what ever you say Shin."

"I told you not to tell her boss," laughed Cheng again, highly amused at the situation. Their little circle now consisted of six men and one woman as the details for the bust was repeated for the sake of Gabrielle. She listened intently as Shin told them of Lee's involvement with the black market gun industry and how he was meeting a new client tonight.

"How do you know all this Shin?" queried Gabe. Her boss smiled slightly, "Because I set it up," he softly answered.

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Gabrielle watched intently through her binoculars as the black limousine pulled up in front of the factory, it was shadowed by two other vehicles, his body guards no doubt. Everyone was put in place and close at hand for when this went down, everyone but her that was. He had told her, "Under NO circumstances do you engage Gabrielle!" She felt totally out of the play here, but she had agreed, so here she stayed.

The young woman thought she herd a sound behind her, glancing quickly over her shoulder, this was so close to the population, she could see the people busying themselves on the streets behind her, 'wasn't this sort of thing done on the outskirts of town in some abandoned building?' she wondered.

Her heart skipped a beat when the first shot rang out, men piling out of cars and it all turned to shit in a heartbeat.

"Crap," she cursed, who was who? She couldn't tell. Gabe held the binoculars in a death grip, trying to find her team-mates amongst the many figures scurrying around.

"FUCK! She screamed when Shin went down, one of the other officers quickly followed. Men poured out of the factory with guns blazing, cutting down the rest of her fellow officers quickly.

Gabrielle thought only of Shin and Cheng, she raised herself up to her knees and pulled out her Glock, fully intending to disobey. Aiming it at the smirking bastards head that was standing over her friends, it was a long shot but what else could she do right now.

Her heart jumped as she heard the metallic clicking of several guns cocking behind her and instantly she knew that they had been fucked over. No one but the men in their little parley at the station knew she was here, they had rat in the ranks.

"Hands up bitch," yelled a male voice behind her and Gabe raised her hands. 'Fuck wasn't she in a simular situation just last night?' I need a new job.'

The gun was ripped out of her hands from behind and Gabe looked up in fear as four men surrounded her, one roughly grabbed her wrists and looped a cable tie around them, pulling it painfully tight

"Bring her," said another, and the young officer was hauled roughly to her feet.

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Sho ambled along the street taking in the sights, every now and then he looked over at his friend who wandered along beside him, hands in his pockets and being very quiet.

"Kei, if I asked you to, would you make me like you?" Sho calmly asked. The immortal gave a quick worried look to his young friend, then a slight grin touched one side of his lips. "I thought you already liked me Sho?" he smiled.

The immortals naive friend missed the joke completely, "No…..I mean, like you as in, be like you," he seriously said, still walking along the crowded street.

Kei thought for a moment, "No, I wouldn't do that to you Sho," he replied.

Sho shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "But, if I wanted you to, you'd do it for me, wouldn't you?" he pressed the immortal further.

Kei looked up to gauge his seriousness, his brows knotted together in confusion as he saw the sincerity in Sho's eyes.

"No, do you have any idea what it's like, to have everyone you ever love die before your eyes?" he explained, "you fall in love, watch them grow old and then they die, and your left on your own again. It leaves a deep, empty hole inside and nothing you do can fill it."

Sho nodded his head sympathetically as Kei finished, "but, if you loved them, wouldn't you turn them so you could spend forever with that one person?"

Kei sighed, he had thought about this many times, but every time he came to the same conclusion. "What, and make them into what I am, an animal, a monster? No Sho, I wouldn't do that to those I love. Besides, if I turned them, then they would want to turn the ones they loved, and then those would want to turn the ones they loved, and it would just keep going, it would be a Domino effect and I would be to blame. This world is in enough trouble now without me adding to it."

Sho wasn't giving in,

"Yeah but, what if that person only had you to love in this world, so there wasn't any chance of them wanting to turn anyone else?" he pushed him further.

Kei gave him a sly sidewards glance, "I would still be turning them into an animal, so no, I'm not turning you Sho." he grinned at the amused look on his friends face and without warning, Sho gave him a not-so-gentle shove.

"You say that like it's a bad thing Kei," teased the mortal man.

Suddenly the Vampire stopped, his sensitive nose to the air as his head swivelled slowly around. Sho was up close to his friend in an instant, "what is it, what do you smell?" he whispered.

Kei back peddled a few steps and looked down the dark street they had just passed, "I smell….. Vanilla and coconuts," he said. Sho's shoulders slumped, "oh no… not vanilla and coconuts again," he moaned.

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The trio of captives knelt on the factory floor, hands tied before them and surrounded by gun runners.

Gabrielle sent another nervous look to her boss, he was bleeding profusely from a bullet to his shoulder but he knelt there with his head high and glaring at the weasel type features of the black market smuggler.

Cheng was in a bad way, he'd been shot in the midsection from what she could discern and was having great difficulty just staying upright.

The weasel spoke, teasing Shin for his failure.

"How many died this time Lo?" he slowly paced around the three figures kneeling on the floor. "I thought after our last little confrontation you would have understood that you lack the ability, or the will to take me down," he taunted the senior detective.

"I am feeling very generous tonight," his mood lifted and he grinned down at Shin. "I will let one of you live, but you must choose which one,"

The detective glared up at the man, "go to hell," he growled.

Lee stood straight and moved before Cheng, "very well then, I pick," he said and levelled the gun at Cheng's head.

Gabe closed her eyes, she didn't want to see what was coming or to hear it either. Slowly she raised her bound hands and stuck her fingertips over her ears, it still didn't block out the shattering bang when it rand out.

Totally unbelieving that the man had pulled the trigger, Gabrielle opened her eyes and wished to the heavens that she hadn't. Cheng's body lay convulsing on the floor, a single stream of blood made a periodic fountainhead out of the bullet hole in his head.

Gabrielle couldn't hold back the muted wail that came from her mouth and she burst out into tears.

"No, no, no, no please god no." she made a move towards her friend but was roughly jerked back by her hair and held there.

Gabe screamed loudly but it was more for her friend then the brutal treatment.

And for the second time in as many days she felt the cold tip of a gun resting against her head.

"Nuh!" she gasped as her tied hands were held tightly against her heart.

"So tell me detective Lo," came the creepy voice of the gun lord, "who shall be next, will you be chivalrous and volunteer, or do we put a bullet in the pretty girls head."

Gabe closed her eyes again, tears falling unrestrained down her cheeks.

"Shin!" she wept and settled an understanding gaze on him. "Kill these fuckers." she begged of her boss.

Lo almost broke at her plea, he knew what she was saying but there was no way he would make that decision, no honourable man would.

"Ding…..times up I'm afraid," came the weasel's voice, "and since you can't make that decision, I'm afraid, I'll only be too happy to do it for you."

The sadistic murderer stood before them, raising the Gun to Lo, "Einee," he said, "Meanie," and he pointed it at Gabe's head. "Minee," back to Lo's, "and Mo," the barrel pointed again at the young detective and the evil leader grinned at her. "Looks like you loose, little girl."

Shin made to move in front of his subordinate, "NO! Pick me, she's just a girl for Christ's sake."

The warped gun runner smiled at him. "Now, now you had your chance," he delighted in the tormented look on Lo's face as he held the gun to the females head and bent in close to her.

"Any last words my dear," he chuckled.

Gabe opened her tear filled eyes and looked up at him with defiance. "Yeah, I hope you die screaming you fucker," she growled out.

The leader as well as the men around laughed at her rebellious outburst and he nodded his head at her choice in approval.

"Nice, very nice last words my dear," and he patted her on the head as he stood. Then all amusement left his face as he steadied his aim at her forehead.

Gabrielle let out a whimper and once again closed her eyes, suddenly a deafening blast sounded out and her body jolted in fright….but, she was still alive.

Her eyes opened in confusion and there in front of her stood the gang leader, gun still aimed at her head. 'Oh fuck no, did that fucking gun just misfire, will I have to go through that again?' were her horrified thoughts.

But then he faulted, a confused, pained look crossed his face and he stumbled slightly.

The young woman stared at him bewildered then noticed a bright red stain appear on the front his gaudy shirt and it was getting larger every second.

It was then that all hell broke loose, the explosive sound of gunfire resonated around the room, men flew in all directions firing at god knows what and bullets whizzed past her but she was too shocked to act. She screamed as a body slammed into her, taking her to the ground and covering the girls quivering form. When Gabe got over the initial shock she looked up and into the familiar blue eyes of her silent antagonist.

"Shit!" she gasped, "what the hell?"

Sho ducked down as a volley of bullets ricocheted around them, grabbing onto the girl he rolled with her behind the relative safety of a stack of pallets. And looked down into her dazed eyes.

"Kei was right," he yelled above the gunfire. "You're a real pain in the ass!"

Gabe's mouth worked double time, 'he was speaking again.' was all that entered her thoughts. But as was an all to familiar thing with these guys, nothing came out, her brain had abandoned her again. Sho rolled off the dumbstruck female and returned to the fight, firing at anything that moved with lethal precision.

The young woman scrambled to see the battle unfold, noticing her boss curled up on the floor just metres away she rushed on her tied hands and knees over to him, grabbing hold of his shirt collar and dragged him back behind the pallets.

"Shin…..fuck, you better be alive?" she screamed as the shots rang out in all directions.

Her boss gave a confused nod and he ducked when a bullet whizzed too close.

"Do you know who they are Gabe?" he queried in nervousness. She had to wonder for a second.

"They are friends Shin, I think." Gabrielle ripped off his sleeve and used it as a tourniquet, binding his shoulder as best as she could. Satisfied with her attempt the young woman tried to force Shin's restraints open but failed to budge the cable ties.

"Don't bother Gabe, we need a knife," he yelled as the deafening blasts continued. The young detective looked around the area, quite a few bodies were accumulating on the floor and she fumbled her way over to the first to check for something to cut their bonds, she glanced up into the mayhem.

Sho was firing repeatedly, his long white coat flapping around his ankles as he whirled around, he was terrifyingly marvellous to watch and just as deadly.

Then there was a blur of motion too quick for mortal man and one by one the gangland members fell before it.

Gabrielle watched astounded at the sight, when the blur stopped it took on the form of her blond adversary, one that she had been up close and personal with just last night.

"Kei," she whispered and was startled when he looked towards her.

"Oh shit," mumbled Gabe as their eyes met and she shuffled back behind the pallets.

"No luck Shin," and the girl settled for hugging into her boss as the shots continued. The gunfire slowly died down, and after several seconds of silence they slowly un-entwined themselves from each other, glancing up to see what had unfolded.

The first thing Gabe looked for was the blond, seeing him standing off to the side with gun levelled out, back to back with Sho, she relaxed a little.

"Kei," she whispered again, relieved when he made his way over to them.

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The immortal made his way over to the anxious girl, was she Ok? It had been so close.

They hadn't meant to be here this night but as they were out wandering he couldn't mistake her particular smell, vanilla and coconut. And the shots that followed her scent caused his heart to skip, why was he so concerned for her?

Sho had followed him in without question and it wasn't until it was over that he realised that he had acted on pure instinct.

Kei knelt down beside the young woman and took her tied wrists , forcefully breaking the cable ties with his bare hands.

Gabrielle looked up at him in expectation, "so, you want to tell me anything?" she nervously asked.

He lent in till his face was close to hers. "Yes!" he said, "you're more trouble then I anticipated."

**TBC**

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	3. I hope the sun comes out!

Hi to everyone.

Sorry it has been so long between posts, this chapter has been sitting around half-done for months now so I finally got around to finishing it. Or should I say, sick of looking at it so I'm posting it to get on with juicier chapters.

**Soubi at docomo: Hi my dear, so glad you enjoyed the last chapter and hope you like where this one goes. **

**Rose444100: I agree, it would be very hard to choose between the two. I will be retaining a certain amount of OOC in Kei, having him a little darker. I think a vampire would have a more menacing nature and we see it at the beginning of the film where he picks up the dead dude and dances with him as he shoots off a few rounds so I'm running with that side of him.**

**Eadwine63: WOW, I'm so totally thrilled with your awesome review. You must forgive my spelling though, I do use spell check but we do spell things differently than some places. (Aussie spelling). I'm so glad you like Kei this way, I adore the notion of him having a bit of a sadistic side, and all vamps must have it in them to some degree. . I'm also glad you like the little bit of humour I throw in here and there.**

**Fantasi88: I'm so sorry but I'm over Kei/Sho love stories. And although they do love one another in this story, it's in a purely brotherly love. I need Gabe, as her character will essentially bring about catastrophic events that will be revealed only at the end. Then, they will have a new cause to be together.**

So please enjoy everyone and reviews are appreciated.

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The two men sat facing one another in the grey hued room of their apartment, daylight had come and Kei found unexpected pleasure from its dawning. Dark clouds loomed outside their large living-room window, blocking the sun completely and releasing torrential tears upon Mallepa. They sat there in contemplation of one another and enjoyed the unforeseen daylight reprieve from death.

Last night's actions left Sho a little more than curious as to his friend's level of interest in the detective. The young man spread himself out on the luxurious, suede lounge studying his immortal friends face in the veiled natural light; it was a welcomed rare sight and Sho indulged himself simply gazing at the vampire.

Kei was defensive, sitting motionless in a high back recliner with a determined face glowering at Sho, as if daring him to say another word. And well, how could Sho possibly resist that stony look.

They had been at a standoff for the last ten minutes, each determined to get the upper hand in their mischievous game of 'I have one over on you sucker.'

Sho was feeling such contentment; he had, right now, found something to stir his friend with. The other, trying all manner of deflections to ward off the impish mortal who was hell-bent on taunting him relentlessly. It was always good to blow off steam this way after looking death in the eye, for Sho anyway. Death had already claimed Kei, but it still felt good to mess around with someone you loved after being surrounded by assholes who wanted nothing but to splatter your brains against the wall.

It was as close to saying, "nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh-nuh, we're still alive and you're not," as humanly possible without actually saying it and still retaining all manner of manliness.

Sho's eyes glinted with mischief; a small smile had taken up permanent residence at the corner of his lips as he continued his mischievous jeers.

"All I'm saying…." started Sho again, he was unwavering in getting this observation off his chest and dumping it into Kei's lap.

"NUH," yelled the vampire, holding up a halting hand in the direction of his friends face and hopefully preventing the next words, "I don't want to hear It." he warned.

The gunslinger chuckled in amusement and shook his head, his teacher could be so obstinate sometimes but he went ahead undeterred.

"I think you should…" he tried to continue.

"Nuh-uh," yelled Kei again, "**don't** think Sho," he cut him off. "You didn't succeed the first few times you tried it," he barely contained his own smile as he mocked the young man.

Sho chuckled at the defensive retaliation, he could count on just one hand the times he had something over the blond immortal, and this being one of them, he wasn't about to just let it slide by without a good dose of tormenting first. Besides, a new friend in the group could be exciting, and a cop as a friend would just be great as far as Sho was concerned. Imagine all the stories she could tell them, all the inside gossip that was going around town,

"Kei, I saw the look in her eyes, she likes you…" he almost sung the last three words like a kid would, the unease on the vampires face was just wonderful as far as Sho was concerned.

"SHO!" yelled the immortal, aghast but also amused with what his friends taunting. "This subject is taboo, ok, I don't want to hear another thing about it," he warned.

Silence prevailed for about thirty seconds, the man sat there watching his vampiric friend while his legs bounced slightly in disquiet unrest. It had been a long, long time since Kei had shown the slightest interest in another person, himself excluded. Sho wasn't just going to let this opportunity of a potential …? Whatever it might turn out to be, slip through his reluctant friends fingers.

"I saw the look in your eyes to," blurted out Sho and laughter erupted from the amused man as his friend could only glare in response.

Quick deniability was required here, "For the last time, I'm not interested in her," grumbled the vampire; his mood was jovial despite the continuous taunting by his young friend.

Kei decided to take the focus off this troublesome topic, "I'm as interested in her as your are in that chubby little girl that works with Toshi, I hear she asked about you again." The effect on Sho was instant, his body posture closed in and his arms crossed over his chest. With one sentence, he'd gone from antagonist to defensive measures and Kei now had him on the back peddle. His uncomfortable squirming in the girl's presence hadn't gone unnoticed by the observant vampire; they knew she liked Sho and went to extremes just to see him, which usually sent Sho running. She was a sweet girl just a little over zealous in her pursuit and indulged in far too many Pizzas then she should.

"Maybe we should have Pizza tonight?" Kei knew they wouldn't do such a thing but this was taking the focus off the detective tremendously.

The gunslinger looked positively undignified at the suggestion of pursuing this love interest,

"I-I, don't like her like that!" was his mortified answer and it was now Kei's turn to smile. Sho continued his reasoning, "She just, makes great Pizzas, that's all," he awkwardly tried to find an excuse for just liking her on a friendly basis. After all, she did add extra toppings to all Sho's pizzas.

Being early morning, Sho had the best escape route from this conversation. "Think I'll go and get us some….things," he said as he rose off the lounge and made a beeline for the door.

Kei's smile broadened at his friend's evasive tactic, "I'll see you later then Sho, I'm gunna get some sleep."

Sho swung round before opening it and squinted threateningly at the blond victor, "I won't say another thing if you don't say another thing," he cautioned the smug blond.

Kei smiled, "my lips are sealed on the subject of girls for as long as yours are," he replied, amused at the speed in which his taunting had stopped and the man was now running for the door.

Sho gave him an exasperated huff, "night Kei," he mumbled and totally discontent with the outcome of this little episode and left without another word.

Kei watched him disappear; his shy Sho, he was always entertaining when it came to the ways of women. Though he knew he shouldn't tease his friend for his shy ways with the fairer sex, Sho was never comfortable when it came to expressing his deeper emotions. The immortal guessed his early childhood held much to blame, life for Sho would have been troublesome before Kei came along. That day, the day they met, he would recall often. Why did a boy stand there unafraid, while he, a monster, killed a man right before his eyes, fed off his blood and let his life drain away slowly?

Kei felt slightly remorseful about taking that man's life, even though he was a bastard. But as that child stood there watching him without fear, without disgust or hatred, for the first time in his life, he didn't feel like such a wretched creature.

And their friendship had bloomed; Kei for the first time had a human companion in life. One that never judged him for what he was or what he did, sought only his company and was content with that. Sho's acceptance of him was without conditions, something so very rare in this world. It left the vampire in awe of the boy, was it his innocence, courage or imprudence that caused him to accept a monster into his life without questioning what the foreboding outcome might be? Either way, it left him feeling a little more content with the cards that life had dealt him.

Kei in return had protected the boy. Taking him literally under his wing and teaching him all that he knew as he grew into a headstrong teenager. Their friendship turned to love and both knew there was a bond between them that would never be severed. They had trust in each other, complete trust and love; the vampire had finally found something worth living for.

Though for Sho, the world of women eluded him somewhat, they caught his eye a lot but he wasn't experienced by any means when it came to actually speaking to one.

He certainly knew about what went where with women, the bright crimson colour of his cheeks testified to that fact whenever Sho caught him in the act of perving. Grinning at the young man, Sho would make a circle with his thumb and forefinger of one hand, and then poke the forefinger of his other hand in and out in the representation of sex in a very suggestive manner.

The effect was always the same, Sho bright red down to the tips of his toes.

Kei understood perfectly why his friend would taunt him in return for any miniscule interest that he took in women; he certainly had it coming that was for sure.

The completely content immortal smugly picked himself up off the armchair, making his way to the bedroom and absently shrugging out of his clothes as he passed through.

'_Sho, what wouldn't I give for you to find happiness in this life?' _He contemplated while noticing his un-made bed. He picked up a few dirty clothes as he ambled into his private bathroom, throwing the soiled items in the basket.

The subject of what Sho wanted in life had come up only twice but it was something that it seemed, Sho never wanted to discuss. Both times it left Kei with a regretful condescending feeling, like a father giving his adolescent kid that dreaded *get a haircut and a decent job son,* talking to.

But the biggest fear for the immortal was of Sho wanting a normal life, a family of his own, but feeling obligated to stay with the vampire because of their friendship and who and what he was. Would he in silence, willingly deny himself the life he secretly craved.

He wondered at how he would feel if Sho ever met someone that he loved enough to settle down with, get married, have children. What would he do?

The image of him playing uncle to a tribe of Sho's children was amusing enough, but for how long? How would they explain why uncle Kei, after twenty-five years, now looked younger than his nieces and nephews?

As much as he liked their current situation there was no way to maintain it forever, well, there was but Kei would never resort to taking his friends life and damning him for eternity.

He checked out his reflection in the bathroom mirror, it hadn't changed since the day he had been, many hundreds of years ago. Would he last another hundred years, who knew?

The vampire was quite content with the notion of he and Sho spending their lives together and when his mortal friend died, Kei would simply watch the sunrise. That's how he had envisioned their life together, all other variables aside of course.

He ran the shower and immersed his body under the soothing water. She had such a distinctive smell, it suited her. Kei was surprised at the change in thoughts; the girl was not his type. _'Loud, slightly obnoxious, challenging, witty, pretty and nice to hold? Wait!' _When had he suddenly found her appealing?

He tried to focus back on her bad points, _'break and enter, overfed my fish, westerner, blue eyes…..very pretty blue eyes and when I stuffed my fingers down the front of her jeans,' _a tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lip_, 'I could feel the heat and slight rise of her mound under the material. I heard her heart beat faster and her breath quicken, was it fear or excitement that set her pulse racing?' _Kei moaned, dipping his head under the water as he replayed the scene.

The young woman was scared but still had the nerve to tell him off, and he still felt the sharp crack every time he thought about the palm-heel to the nose. _'Feisty little wench,' _he grinned to himself_. _The only other woman that had ever hit him had been his mother, she however, had never attempted to break his nose, he gave a small chuckle at the thought of his mother cracking him in the face the same way.

He wasn't sure why he wanted to intervene last night, only that he did. Maybe he wanted to cause her, the menace, more discomfort for what she had done. Maybe he wanted to see what she would do on their upcoming encounters, what bone she might break next time she snuck into his home, maybe he was just interested in whether she would be able to catch him out? The idea of being chased by her was appealing in itself, let alone if she had the brains and the brawn to catch him and bring him to justice. He briefly wondered why his senses had picked up her unique smell at all but put it down to being up close and personal with the minx the night before.

When he and Sho had come upon the scene, the smell of blood was overwhelming for the one that lived off the life giving fluid. For a heartbeat, he feared it was all over. Cops didn't get a warm welcome within any gangland community, brutally tortured then murdered. Their bodies left somewhere obvious as a warning for the rest to stay out of their business. Kei was adamant that no cop deserved to fall into these thugs' hands, especially a woman. Cops were not his friends but by no means were they his enemies either, and though she might be on his tail, he still found it nothing more than an interesting game of tactics right now. Cat and mouse, only just who was the cat and who was the mouse?

His adrenalin had kicked into overdrive blast night, something that had not happened for a long time as he they skirted their way around the already fallen. The gang had dragged the rest inside the warehouse to dispose of at their leisure, to toy with before they murdered them.

Kei had looked to his friend, gauging Sho's response to what was playing out before them. If he had any doubts about his friends safety here he wouldn't go in, he refused to risk Sho for anyone or anything. If Sho had looked hesitant in the slightest he wouldn't have gone in either, nothing was worth the risk of losing the one person he loved in this life. But the man looked just as eager as ever to lay waste to whoever it was inside that Kei didn't hesitate to venture in and attack. While he never usually enjoyed killing for the hell of it, some people just needed it.

He knew the girl was watching him as he dealt death at random, he heard her say his name amongst the cacophony of gunfire and screams. For some reason, it seemed he was becoming in tuned with the young woman, her smell, her voice. Not anywhere near the level he was fine-tuned into the senses of Sho but it was closer than any other he had dealings with. He had that impending feeling that trouble was coming his way and it was about 5 foot, 3 inches tall.

That thought didn't sit easily with the blond in the shower as he guiltlessly washed away the so-called sins he'd just committed. One part of him wanted to explore the possibilities of the young woman to the fullest extent; the other part wanted nothing to do with what she had on offer. Why was he even thinking that she would want him, as a friend….or…. dare he think it, something more intimate? She was just a cop looking for a murderer that was all it was. _'But, I know what I saw in her eyes, Sho was right, she looked at me with interest, but was it in me or what she thought I might be?' _he asked himself.

Sighing contently as the soothing water gently cascaded down his tense body. In his younger days he would have simply left town about now, but, he wanted to see how this game would be played out, who would win? Yes, all ego aside Kei wanted the chase. It made him feel alive to know that death, for a second time, might not be far away.

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To any passerby, she was just another sad girl walking down the busy corridor of the hospital. Many bleak and low-spirited faces looked out into the crowd that always assembled here on a daily basis, all lost in their own thoughts within their own troubled world.

Gabrielle hated hospitals; to her it was a gathering place for the distraught, the sick and the dying.

A small, shaky hand came up to wipe a tear from the corner of her eye and her lips pressed tightly together determined in their effort not to tremble.

The lights overhead hummed and Gabe lowered her head as a nurse passed by, ashamed to let the woman see her tears, the people here didn't believe in showing emotions, and she was a detective, even more reason not to cry in public.

The doctor's prognosis for Lo was optimistic; he should recover if there weren't any complications. It was the only thing that had appeared to go right from this doomed stakeout.

This had been the most horrifying night of her young life, her boss wounded and her friend murdered right before her eyes. Now that the adrenalin had left her body Gabrielle felt mentally shattered, she'd lost something that she could never get back.

The young detective felt more alone than ever before, she really had no one to turn to in this exotic land. The reasons for being here seemed trivial right now, her father's wishes had put her in harm's way and Gabe had to wander if he knew what he was subjecting his daughter to when he sent her here.

His reasons were simple, her task complex and the real cause behind why she was sent here must be maintained at all cost.

But despite trying to remain aloof with her co-workers, she couldn't keep them out entirely. Cho's mischievous nature won her over entirely and Gabe had the deepest respect for Lo above everyone else she knew.

But she wasn't sent here to make friends, at first it seemed like an easy enough case to solve, find out just who was responsible for these slayings and report it to those that were waiting patiently on the sidelines. But then the unimaginable happened, a legendary myth entered the picture and her whole world changed. Whether this would be what her organization wanted or not, it was now what she wanted, this mythical beast staked out for her examination. What were the possibilities if she had this at her fingertips and what could she gain from it?

Wandering aimlessly towards the exit her body seemed engulfed with a heavy, numb sensation, running on automatic without awareness, until wet drops smacked lightly against her cheeks.

Gabrielle came back from her reverie, looking at where she was for the first time since leaving Lo's room.

Early morning, grey and dreary clouds released a gentle rain upon the earth as she stood in the car park, a gloomy day to match her mood.

Going home seemed even less appealing than simply standing in the rain; the head of her department had granted her a reprieve on all the paperwork regarding last night's disaster. Right now, Gabe had nothing to do but think about what went wrong, how, when and why.

When she thought of her friend, it was his grisly death that came to mind now, not the playful bantering that they'd indulged each other in, or the slight mischief they had got up to, but the sight of him laying face down with a bullet hole in his head. This mourning she was delving into was useless; it accomplished nothing and certainly wouldn't get her any closer to getting back to where she belonged. Gabe had been warned and now she paid the price.

She told herself it was her own fault, her father told her to keep to herself, don't make friends as it might turn out that they are the ones at fault for the gang murders.

Cops were the only ones that, he thought, would have the gall and firepower to wipe out so many criminal elements. It didn't make a whole lot of sense for one gang to wipe one another out as they usually dealt with each other on a regular basis. Not to mention that if the murdering gang was ever found out then the other criminals would feel the need to deal death as a self-preservation act as they could be next.

This lot were all bad men indeed, how the hell did Sho and Kei fare so well against them for so long?

Gabrielle started to aimlessly walk as her thoughts turned to the two men, trying to remember every detail of their gallant rescue, for that's what it was, they had saved her ass.

Her mood shifted ever so slightly and the smallest smile graced her lips as she remembered Sho's words,

"_Kei was right, you're a real pain in the ass!" _so the blond thought she was a pain in the ass, _'that was nice to know,' _she mused.

Gabrielle kept walking, thoroughly drenched, her black blouse plastered to her body and matching coloured pants were like a second skin and she thought it pointless hailing a cab now. Besides, she wasn't that far from a certain somebody and for some reason, she wanted to see if she could catch a glimpse of the duo.

Her wanderings found her at the same place she'd been only a few nights ago, she had stood there with some grimy street kid loaded up with candy and looking at the same dark brick building that she was looking at now.

The brunette couldn't move, her feet just wouldn't take the step she was hoping they would. It was borderline insanity to stand in the rain without purpose to it, but then again, it could be seen as self-indulgence of the pity that she found necessary right now.

She never anticipated that someone she knew and liked would perish on this mission and certainly not right before her eyes. Gabe had played with the thoughts of her target dying, hopefully at her hands but even that was faltering. Gabrielle envisioned a spiteful presence of many behind these attacks but when she replaced the image with either Sho or Kei's faces, there was no conviction to her lining them up in the cross hairs of her gun and pulling the trigger.

Her thoughts so wound up in possibilities that Gabe didn't register the presence till he waved a hand across her field of vision, startling her back to reality.

He stood there, a slight grin on his face as the rain soaked them both but neither seemed to mind.

"Plan on breaking in again?" his brows arched in question but there was a small smile to accompany them as he looked her up and down, taking in her soaked form.

The young detective blinked in confusion and finally focused on the voice, "Sho," she said at last. "Didn't expect to see you out….. in the daylight," Gabe was a little stunned that he was standing in front of her and it was morning. _'Shouldn't he be burning to a crispy fried chip by now?' _she thought to herself as she looked skywards then back to him.

His smile turned into a laugh and Gabe noticed he was one of those wonderful people whose eyes smiled when their lips did, it automatically made her smile in return.

"It is very cloudy," he said when his laughter died down, causing her to look up again and wonder if the overcast weather had any effect on vampires going up in a cloud of smoke, if that's how it happened at all.

He knew exactly what she was referring to, deciding to play her along as he chuckled again at her confused upward look, leaving the young woman in flabbergasted doubt that his daytime wanderings in such cloudy conditions meant he was free to roam around in such circumstances.

Sho was in two minds, one said _'she is a cop and onto us,' _the other said _'she is rather pretty and standing out in the pouring rain just hoping to catch a glimpse of us.'_

Either way it was enticing or a little bit of an ego trip for him.

"How is your friend?' he queried, bringing her back from speculating all the forms of what can kill bloodsuckers.

Gabrielle swiped at the rain running down her face, clearing her vision of the man in front of her. "He will live," she sighed out, "thanks to you."

She looked at him closely again, her first impression when he had her in a death grip was giving way. He was attractive that was for sure but that silent, malicious look that he'd given her was replaced by smiling eyes and Gabe couldn't think bad of him anymore. He had simply been protecting his friend and home from an unknown woman.

The young detective found herself warming to him regardless of what it meant to the investigation.

"So, can I ask why you were there?" she queried as her smile slowly left her face and curiosity took over.

Sho nodded, "sure you can," he giggled and she waited while he fidgeted with his keys.

No explanation was coming forth as the seconds dragged out and still he never gave her an answer. Gabe thought that was the only reply coming and just about to ask him again, she stopped short.

He held up a key after removing it from his chain, "this is my front door key, don't lose it please," he smiled that wonderful smile of his as she hesitantly reached out to take it.

"Ask Kei why we were there cause I haven't got a clue," he chuckled again at her uncertain almost mortified look. "I'm sure he'd love to see you," and with that he turned and walked away. Gabe could hear his laughter increase slightly, which made her wonder if this was a big joke on her behalf and she was the last person Kei would want to see.

He swung round after a few paces, "Leave it on the kitchen table please," again cracking that huge grin of his.

Gabe squinted her eyes in suspicion of his antics but that wouldn't stop her from going up and letting herself in. He was rather tall and had an extremely likable build as he stood there in the drizzling rain facing her. His wet skin glistening and those dazzling blue eyes that seemed to read every thought she ever had in regards to them. They stood there studying one another for several seconds before he gave her a slight nod then slowly turned and walked away.

Were all vampires so damned irresistible? she couldn't help but stand there watching his ass as he strutted down the street. Held tightly within those godforsaken leather pants that he was wearing, it was just so wrong.

'_And what was it with wet anyway, why do wet people look so awesome? _she wondered at the thought a little too long as she watched him till he was almost out of sight.

Then as the reason for her immobility vanished she swung round and without any further hesitation, Gabrielle crossed the street and walked straight up to the fifth floor.

There she stopped, looking down at the water dripping from her rain drenched form to make a slight puddle on the floorboards at the front door.

Kei did say that she could come again, if it was a personal visit, well this was personal enough, she really wanted personal answers to a great many personal questions.

He had also said to her, "do you think the two of us could kill all those men?" Yeah well, after seeing them in action, she really did think so. People don't automatically know how to kill so many with such expertise or have the disposition to do it as they had, those two had definitely done it before.

The hesitant girl pressed her wet ear against the door, hearing nothing, she decided to act a little courteous this time and softly knocked.

No sounds of feet making their way to open the door, Gabe decided to make herself at home. She needed a distraction and even the prospects of pissing off a couple of maybe vampires were a better option to going home to a lonely apartment where she would see her friend die a thousand times before the day was done, not something the young detective could cope with right now.

Gabrielle let herself into the two charismatic characters house again, _'it's so much easier when they give me a key,' _she mused to herself. She carefully ambled as quietly as possible in past the entry and back into what she had come to refer to as the *fish room*. "Hi guys," whispered Gabe looking at the wonderful coloured fish again. Mischievousness got the better of her and she reached for the circular container and overfed them, yet again. But who can resist pretty fishies just begging for food? Actually Gabe couldn't resist any animal begging for food, call it a vice if you like.

The unannounced guest continued her exploration around the home, _'they are clean freaks,' _she thought to herself noticing how pristine the place was. Not like her apartment, crap laying around everywhere, she really needed to get in and clean up. If a mere males can be this squeaky-clean then it put her efforts to shame.

Gabrielle noticed the hallway, half way along there was two doors on either side, _'bedrooms I'm guessing,' _she thought to herself.

Kei was nowhere to be seen so the idea of checking out the boys bedrooms was tantalisingly irresistible. Moving to the left side door first, it was slightly ajar and Gabe stuck her head in. _'Damn them, what man makes the bed? they must be gay,' _she giggled silently to herself at the thought. _'Makes sense though.'_

She turned to the other door, this one was closed. Slowly turning the handle, it moved silently and offered no resistance and the girl stepped through and stopped dead in her tracks.

This room was chillingly dark, subdued light entered from the open door to slightly reveal a bed and beneath white sheets, a faint outline of a person within.

Gabe hesitated, _'oh shit, don't wake up, don't wake up. Damn Sho, he knew about this,' _she thought. And especially after her last visit went down so smashingly disastrous. Taking a step back, her track record of calamitous accomplishments was right on track as the floorboard beneath her foot creaked under her weight.

Gabrielle's eyes went wide in alarm and a slight squeal left her lips as a shadow grabbed her by the throat, pulling her further into the room then slammed her up against the wall.

"Are you out of your mind," yelled the dark blur that held her, Gabrielle squinted in pain and could only nod her head a little as she tried to get oxygen back into her lungs.

The hand left her throat and with a click, the light came on. Gabrielle, shocked at the attack, looked up into the angry blue eyes of Kei, his hands on his hips and his fuming face mere inches from hers.

All the questions that had baffled her before seemed unimportant right now and she wondered what the hell had driven her to come here. He stood there staring her down, waiting for an answer. Gabe swallowed and she couldn't resist the temptation. He stood there clothed only in long, white, cotton pants. God knows why, Gabe peeked down.

His chest was well sculpted and completely smooth, his nipples were a darker brown in colour and there was the outline of well-defined abs. A soft fuzz of blond hair started just below the naval, getting thicker as it went lower to disappear under the waistband of his pants, Gabrielle's eyebrows raised slightly at the sight of him.

She had thought him cute the first time she laid eyes on him but as he stood there now in front of her, angry, breathing deeply and wearing the hell out of those white cotton pants, she decided he was beautiful.

She tried to cover up the obvious checkout, "I-I just wanted answers," she said as her eyes returned to his.

"What makes you think I have them," he snapped back seemingly oblivious to the scrutinising his body had just received.

"Oh, just call it a hunch," was her off handed reply as the girl fought to keep her eyes up to his. Kei was turning out to be a fiery little thing, his whole image was tantalisingly irresistible to her. Was he some sort of vampire, was he a killer, was he of this world? All these possibilities were wrapped up in an attractive package that had her wondering what it would be like, her pulse quickened even more.

"Oh really," he growled, "like the hunch you had when you first came here, tell me, do all detectives make a habit of break and enter?"

Gabe nodded, "It's in our basic training," she teased him. "But fortunately this time, I have a key," she delved into her pocket and pulled out the key that Sho had given her, waved it in front of Kei's face then quickly put it back before he could take it off her.

"Sho gave it to me and said you'd love to tell me why you were at the warehouse," she grinned at the slight deviation to what Sho actually said.

Kei chewed on his bottom lip as he took in her comical reply, his anger lessening a little.

"Did he now? Well that was nice of him," he said through gritted teeth as he thought about his friend. He was sure Sho would be laughing all the way to where ever the hell he had gone and back again, there was some serious payback coming the gunslingers way.

"So, I thought I said only personal visits Missy, I'd hate to think I'll be spending my entire morning feeding you bit by bit to my fish?" he gave her a serious look and raised his brows in question.

Gabrielle sent him her most innocent pout, "I already fed your fish, just in case you got any ideas?" was all she could think of to try and break this awkward moment.

The menacing look on his face dropped into one of mirth, "You are lucky, I nearly ripped your throat out Gabrielle," he said as he turned away from her, grabbing a shirt that lay strewn on the end of his bed and donning it. Why was the girl back again? She was like some reoccurring nightmare, some annoying relative that came into your home and thought nothing of making themselves comfortable.

He smoothed down his shirt conscious of her earlier examination to his appearance, Gabrielle watched the whole process in rapt fascination as his bare form disappeared from view and he faced her. Images of the two men laying waste to the gunrunner gang last night were vividly etched in her mind, they had annihilated twenty men in a matter of minutes and left none alive.

With a cautious glance he walked past her and out of the room knowing full well she would follow on his heels. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she queried.

His blond head tilted to the side and his shoulders slumped in anticipation of her questioning. "Depends?" he mumbled and walked into the kitchen with Gabe on his heels.

Gabe fidgeted, unsure if she should push their delicate boundary just yet but she was here, so what the hell, just a matter of not blurting it out so it sounded like an accusation.

At her hesitation he jumped in, "So," he turned slightly towards her and raised his brows in question, "there's a perfectly good reason coming my way on why you're here….yet again," he sarcastically asked her followed by an offhanded, "Tea or coffee."

Gabrielle slightly smiled, "Coffee please," and she lent up against the cupboard and fiddled with a troublesome fingernail.

"You saved my life, why?" she finally asked him, looking up intently from her split cuticle.

He stopped mid action but kept his back towards her, hesitating for quite some time before he rallied, he turned his head only slightly in her direction and Gabe could see the unsure look on his face even from this angle. "I have no idea why," he softly said and proceeded to make her coffee.

Gabrielle thought for a second, "and how was it that you were there in the first place? And how come you and Sho were so heavily loaded and what's the deal with the way you were moving and why am I a pain in the ass?"

Kei smirked as her list got longer but he didn't offer her any explanations.

Gabe's ire grew at his silence and she boldly accused him, "you and Sho are the gangland killers Kei," she said closing the distance to stand behind him, he slowly turned to face her and the look in his eyes pulled her up abruptly.

He took a calming breath before replying, "you have a wild imagination young lady," he countered her accusations but she wouldn't be dissuaded by his second-rate explanation.

"I saw you Kei, I watched you. You and Sho killed over twenty men and didn't get so much as a scratch to show for it," continued Gabe, she really needed to find out if the one partly responsible for all these gang slayings was standing in front of her now.

"We were lucky," his voice was rising now in defence of his actions.

Gabrielle standing close, pointed a demanding finger at his face, the blond looked at the accusing digit like he wanted to rip it off its owner for a brief second before he levelled that livid look back at her. "That isn't normal Kei, you move too quick and I saw you kill with your bare hands. So tell me, what are you?"

"Your jumping to all the wrong conclusions," he tried to hold in his anger but his response growled out in restrained fury at the accusing woman who waltzed into his home uninvited and now had her finger stuck in his face. And, she just kept going.

"Like hell I am," she continued, "and you wanna know what else I think."

That was it for the vampire, "No," he yelled in her face. "No I don't want to know what you think" he shouted as he advanced on her, Gabrielle back peddled, coming to an abrupt halt as her back hit the cupboard.

The more she accused him the angrier his face had became, she really should have stopped herself at 'coffee please.'

Finding herself once more between an unyielding surface and an angry blond she timidly replied, "I'm sorry Kei," she lowered her head at her unexpected outburst, tempted to rest her forehead against his chin that was so very close and inhale his unique scent as she did so. But, she pulled up just short of making that desired contact. "I just lost a friend, and, my heads all over the place, I don't know what happened. I saw it but I don't know what to make of it."

He sighed as he looked down at the black tresses obscuring her face and his anger softened, "Ok, I'll bite. What do you think Gabrielle?" he almost reached forward to touch her as he waited for the reply, alarmed at how easy it felt for him to do so.

Her head came up and she gave him a vague look, "That's just it Kei, I think you do bite," she hesitantly replied.

Those blond brows arched in surprise at her accusation and he took a step back from her. "What, are we back to you accusing me of being a vampire?" he laughed and shook his head, "It's just a stupid story getting around to lay the fear of God into these gang members, drug runners and gun smugglers, there's no truth to it Gabrielle. You're a police officer for Christ sake, you should know better," he threw the chastising remark in her face hoping to embarrass her for even thinking of such a thing, but, it didn't work.

Gabe nodded her head slowly as if agreeing with him but he easily saw the denial in her eyes.

"Yeah I do know better, because I've been there after these killers have laid waste to the gangs, I've seen these guys that are drained of blood so don't tell me they are fabrications Kei."

And there it was again, that defiant, aggressive attitude and that damned accusing finger aimed at his face. Right now, he really wanted to break it, what was it about this girl that caused his hackles to rise so tenaciously? He wasn't use to such a confrontational woman, she was like the energiser bunny, just going on forever.

"And what did Sho mean when he said that I would turn?" he snapped up at that remark, his eyes searched hers and for the first time he was unsure of what to say. "What was that about?" the woman queried, her frustrations at watching her best friend die, at not knowing what Kei was, human, killer, savour or just a man, it was raising her to a anxious state. She didn't intend to come here and fight with him but he had offered her no answers at all, and she had heaps of questions.

He stood there, anger and indecision clearly etched on his face and Gabe had to wonder at her logic at firing him up again. But this was proving the easiest way to get him talking, he gave her nothing when in his relaxed state. A simple smile and shake of his head, or he avoided her question completely. Fuck him, if he talked when he was pissed off then pissed off she would get him.

A humourless smirk crossed his lips as she stood there waiting and he huffed defiantly at her demanding posture.

"I'm not what you want me to be, sorry," he said in an almost pleasant tone but it managed to sound scathing none the less. "And right now, I think it's time for you to leave," he continued through clenched teeth.

Gabrielle didn't want to leave, she had regretfully found the need to insult him in his own home to try and get answers, and did she get them? Oh no, but she did get a fuming blond that looked like he was about to chop suey her ass.

"I don't want to," she hesitantly replied.

Kei did a double take at the girl and scoffed, "don't want to," he repeated and his jaw dropped slightly, the vampire was dumbfounded at her audacity. "Well there's not a lot you can do about it lady," he sarcastically said as he lurched forward and grabbed her by the arm. Only slightly restraining his immortal strength so he didn't cause her permanent damage, he dragged the upstart roughly towards the door.

Gabrielle dug her heels in, "wait, wait, wait, please, you kick me out and I'll just break in again," she whined but it didn't stop her forced momentum towards the door.

In a last ditch effort she tried again, "I just want to tell you something," he pulled her up just short of the door and gave her his *I don't give a damn look* while his hands went casually to his hips.

She took a deep breath, "I don't care if you are the gangland killers, I couldn't care less after what just happened. You saved my life and I owe you, so. If I can do anything for you, ever, you just have to ask."

He looked at her thoughtful for a while then nodded his head, "there is something you can do for me actually," he said and gave her a sincere look.

"Stop breaking into my house!" he yelled and with that, he opened the door and shoved her unceremoniously out into the stairway. He smiled as she turned to face him and abruptly slammed the door in her face.

The brunette couldn't believe she was thrown out of this apartment yet again, "Sleep lightly Kei," she yelled at the closed door, "I'll be back tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that and every day until you talk to me," she continued yelling.

Gabe waited for a few minutes to see if her outburst would gain her entry but the door remained closed.

In a huff, she searched her options. "I have a key…Kei," was it her or did that sound more like a funny one-liner then a threat?

Gabe dug into her pocket just to make sure she still had her free entry pass, holding the bronze item up to her face and smiling smugly that she still had it.

There was a blur of motion, the door seemed to open, a hand reached out and the door closed again. Her eyes widened, startled at the lightning quick movement as she stood there with the key held up to her face, only, there was no key any more.

"How the…..what…..fuck, damn son-of-a-bitch," she blurted out looking at the vacant grip of her fingers. There was really nothing left to do so with a final vicious glare at the door she turned and angrily started trudging down the stairs.

Kei closed his eyes and slumped against the door as he listened to Gabrielle thud away, his head tilted back to rest against the wooden frame and he sighed with relief.

He knew it was her as soon as he had woken by the creaking floorboard, her sweet smell flooding the room, alerting him to who it was but he couldn't resist the urge to put his hands around her throat. Her wet, tight fitting clothes hadn't gone unnoticed by the immortal and neither has the small puddles she had left through the hallway. Damn girl had no respect for a man's house.

As he stood there in perfect silence his thoughts were drawn to a wet smacking sound, his brows knotted together as he focused on the noise. His eyes opened in alarm and he pushed away from the door and headed purposely towards the round fish tank.

His lips grimaced in a disapproving thin line as he took in the damage, the surface still laden with flakes and his hands went to the sides of the tank in protective anger for his beloved fish, "I'm gunna have to kill her," he growled.

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Gabrielle had more purpose to her step as she retraced them back to her car, this so-called vampire was just as bothersome as his counterparts in the movies. That or he was just one pissed off bi-polar guy.

How could she tell for sure? What were the trademark signs of the creature Nosferatu? What were the giveaways of his kind, the weaknesses?

Garlic, crosses, holy water, what else brought about their downfall?

Gabe sloshed through the rain-drenched streets as she continued to dredge up all her knowledge on vampires and their lore.

Shape shifters, well that would be interesting if they could.

Flying through the night skies, what kid didn't pretend to fly by flapping his arms?

Gabrielle wondered at the powers that one would inherit by drinking the blood of a vampire. What would she be like if she were a vampire?

Would she go round kicking the shit out of unsavoury criminals? It would definitely be fun in some instances that was for sure. Then her mood dimmed, or until you capped off the wrong gang and someone was sent from a foreign land to specifically kill you that was. Gabe sighed and shoved the thought from her mind, concentrating on something else besides why she was here.

She strode along the wet streets almost bereft of people, occasionally looking at the scattered few that braved the rain. In the distance she spotted him, coming towards her with a familiar gait.

About twenty feet away he noticed her to and that smirk appeared instantly on his face.

"So, was he happy to see you?" Sho chuckled as they got closer.

Gabrielle didn't even bother to stop, she let him have it on the fly.

"You're an ass Sho," she growled as she passed by.

He genuinely looked shocked, "What's wrong detective?" he then feigned forgetfulness, hand going to his head. "Oh I forgot to tell you, he's in bed," he tried to remain serious but failed on an epic level.

He turned around as she passed to keep facing her and she did the same but kept moving away slowly.

She gave him the middle finger salute, "I hope the sun comes out!" she yelled.

Sho was so amused that she was jumping to conclusions, all of them wrong of course.

"Oh that would be nice," he yelled after her. "I love the sun," he gave her a happy wave and continued on his way home, things must have gone as he expected then.

Then he thought about the different scenarios that had gone down, he would have loved to be a fly on the wall but right now, he had a feeling Kei would be planning serious vengeance on his ass, this was the most fun he'd had in ages.

TBC


	4. I'm sorry, did I, scare you?

_**Everyone that has been following Sho, Kei and Gabrielle on their little adventure here, I give you my sincerest apology for making you wait so long for chapter 4.**_

_**Real life just gets in the way sometimes and it's never as much fun as our fantasy life**_

_**.**_

**Addict to Fanfics**_**: **__I'm really glad you like the story so far and I to love the bit of humor that's splashed around. I think Sho will have a lot of fun at her expense. _

**Eadwine63**_: Thank you so much my dear, what a wonderful review and I only hope I can live up to your praise. I can't think of Kei as being a soft vampire either, sort of goes with the territory that vamps are a bit devilish._

_Well I really hope you like this chapter and the building of relationships between the three._

**Rose444100**_: How sweet are you? You have been with me from the start and I really appreciate your reviews. I am like you in that I see a Mr Hyde (pun not intended) lurking underneath Kei's Dr Jekyll._

**Now please enjoy the next chapter**

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'_That tingling feeling of impending doom is running up my spine,' _Sho chuckled at the thought as he tentatively climbed the stairs to their apartment.

Funny enough, the girl had seemed genuinely peeved about her little encounter with Kei. Sho could only imagine at the delightful, energizing run-in those two had when coming together in such a way.

He gave a half-hearted chuckle and quickly looked around to see if anyone in the stairwell had noticed the crazy man laughing to himself.

Brief thoughts flitted across his mind on whether or not it had been a mean trick to play on them both. He brushed the idea off nonchalantly; the excitement would do Kei the world of good.

Heaven knows, it had been a long time since the immortal had had that kind of, excitement! All the things that went with that bit of mania to should make a change to his dreary days and almost hermit type kind of life.

Yes the girl was pissed at him, Sho had no doubt in the world that his nocturnal friend would be in a similar mood, whatever payback the vampire had planned for him would be worth it…maybe?

He paused in mid-step,_ 'Perhaps, I should stay out a while longer and let him cool down!' _ The idea bounced around indecisively for a few seconds but finally, curiosity got the better of him. He just had to know what happened between them, regardless of the retribution that Kei would have planned at his expense.

Without another thought, he decided to brave his moody vampire and continued on up.

Sneaking in as silent as possible, Sho detected a rustling noise from the kitchen. In an almost comical, childlike way, he tiptoed down the hall and peered around the corner to see Kei making breakfast for himself.

Sho groaned out load, "You didn't feed her did you Kei?" keened the gunslinger. "Now we'll never get rid of her!"

The vampire turned his head slightly Sho's way and gave him a very straight-faced glare, the one that said, *you're gunna pay dearly my friend, sooner or later, you're gunna pay.*

The mortal gave him a sly smile, knowing full well that he was immune to any harmful payback from one as potentially lethal as Kei. He had a *Get out of jail free card* in other words.

"So," he said behind an uncontained grin. "She looked really happy when she left, are you two best-of-friends now?" and his smile morphed into a soft chuckle.

Kei's death glare turned back to his breakfast preparation, "oh laugh it up Sho," he said in an amused but sarcastic manner. "Your turn is bound to come."

Kei could survive entirely on blood alone, but eating normal food kept him linked into his humanity, something that he wasn't prepared to give up no matter what. Smoking, drinking alcohol and eating were the things that made him feel, well….still human. Though it benefitted him only marginally to eat food, it still made him feel a little less like a life-draining, blood-sucking monster to do it.

Sho wandered further into the kitchen to stand beside his friend, turning on his heel ever so gracefully to face the vampire while crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at the toast sitting on the breadboard, lavished decadently in butter and waiting patiently for its counterpart, the jam. His mouth watering at the sight and reminding him he hadn't eaten since last night.

"You know, she's under the impression that we're both vampires!" mumbled the mortal as the smell of the roasted bread filled his nostrils. "She told me, she hoped the sun comes out. You know what? That woman is really mean!" he chuckled at the image of her angry face and misplaced threat.

Kei gave a small smile at the thought as he slapped a large glob of jam onto the two bits of toast. "Well, she's obnoxious now isn't she?" he mumbled, which then turned into a protesting, "HEY," as Sho stole part of his breakfast. Quickly, he stuffed over half the slice into his mouth so Kei couldn't retrieve it.

"Mmm Hmmmmm, totally obnoxious," Sho said impishly round the mouthful of food. "But, she's easy on the eye, she's a cop, and…..I'm pretty sure she is on your tail Kei."

The immortal glanced at him with a quizzical look, "you mean she's on OUR tail?" he corrected his friend.

Sho stopped chewing his overstuffed mouth for a second, and with an almost painful, concentrating look on his face, he then shook his head vigorously. His auburn fringe quickly swung back and forth not quite long enough to hide the mirth in his blue eyes.

"No, I'm positive she is on your tail Kei," he re-confirmed then a brilliant smile lit up his face. "Yep, your tail for sure," he added and quickly dodged the playful swipe directed at the back of his head from the vampire.

Kei rescued his remaining bit of toast and took a satisfying bite, in similar fashion to his friend, he mumbled round a not so full load. "I swear Sho, you give that woman your key again, I'll castrate you with a butter knife," he added.

Sho chuckled at the thought of Kei furiously trying to cut his nuts off with a blunt knife, "Mmmm, sounds like fun," he said offhandedly.

Both ambled over to the large window, taking in the wonderful sight of storm clouds hovering outside and the rain leaving tiny rivers running down the glass. Kei reached up to trace one of the wavering courses on its decent while absently finishing off his breakfast.

His thoughts were miles away until a bolt of lightning startled him at its unexpected closeness and brightness, reminding him that the dangers in this life to him came in many shapes and forms. He missed his mortality dreadfully, sunlight was his enemy and it was consistent, people that found out what he was would be the enemy and there were many people on the sundrenched planet. The things that could destroy him were sometimes overwhelming; all he wished for was to be as he was before, before he became this creature.

It was probably right that everything in this world wanted him dead, he was un-natural. Feeding off precious life just to keep existing in this miserable existence. He had no right; monsters had no right to take something so amazing like the life of someone, just to survive in a place that clearly didn't want him.

It was only his dear friend standing beside him that kept him here; Kei felt a strong and deep bond with the man and knew that Sho was dependent on him for more than just his survival to. They depended on each other to be there, whether for companionship or advice it didn't matter, they needed one another to survive this time on Earth.

"What are we going to do about her?" Sho broke into the silence. He did find the cop rather intriguing but didn't like the idea of what they might be faced with. Gabrielle wasn't the kind they usually dealt out justice to; she was decent enough despite being obnoxious as Kei put it. The girl was a good-guy so to speak, Sho didn't like the thought of taking a good-guy down in the least. Even if she was a serious threat to them, their way of life, their very existence. _'Well when you look at it like that!'_ he thought. _'No, maybe not even then.'_

Kei let out a long sigh, "Yeah, I've been thinking about that. If she is just playing out her hunch, then, she really has nothing on us. In that case we're probably safe but, that could all change if she digs deep enough and keeps poking her nose around where it's not wanted."

'_Especially in my bedroom,'_ he thought.

They both contemplated the possible scenarios before Sho spoke. "If she did find out, do you think she would even tell anyone? I mean really, who would believe her story of vampires?" he queried.

"Doesn't' matter," Kei softly said. "If she found evidence or witnesses placing us at the scene of those murders, we'd be charged, all stories of vampires aside; we'd be on death row if she could somehow prove we killed them Sho."

The gunslinger sighed in apprehension, "well, the way I see it, we have three alternatives. Two of which I don't like and one that's risky," he said.

Kei dipped his head to the side and looked at the mortal, "so, you've got it all worked out Sho," he mocked. "Enlighten me then."

Sho went into his enlightenment mode with confidence, "well, we could shut her up permanently, which I might add, I don't feel confident in doing at all. Or, we can leave town which I really don't want to do either," he quickly added.

Kei jumped in, "by shut her up you mean…..what, kill her?" the distaste clearly etched across his face.

Sho let his eyes drift slowly closed and breathed deep, quickly opening them again to continue. "I'm just offering choices Kei; this is how I see it."

The vampire nodded in understanding, "yeah well, what's your third option."

His dear friend gave him a small smile before continuing. "We could, open up a little and let her into our lives."

Kei turned towards him fully, lips opened and face full of argument but Sho cut him off with a pair of hands, one around the back of the blonds head and the other firmly over his mouth.

"Sush, hear me out," he yelled above the muffled objection under his hand.

"We don't just blurt it out of course, we do it slowly. Feel her out; see how she handles certain aspects of our life. If you think she could handle it, if she would keep our secret. Then we let her in, if you don't think she could handle it, then we are left with the other two options. We let Toshi into our lives, he knows and he keeps our secret, you will see, not everyone is out to kill you Kei."

Sho took his hands away from his friends face to finally let Kei have a say.

"Toshi has known since he was a child just like you Sho! No, it's too dangerous….."

The mortal cut him off yet again, "no Kei, think about it. She would be more likely to keep our secret if she was our friend, like Toshi? She might do it now because we saved her life last night and she owes us, but, for how long Kei? She's a cop and I don't know what kind of cop. That girl is like Nancy Drew crossed with a pit-bull if you ask me."

Kei's brows creased together in confusion, "Nancy Drew and a pit-bull? He queried the Gunslinger.

Sho gave him a somber look and a nod of his head, "hell yeah, Miss goody-two-shoes who leaves no stone unturned and once her jaws lock around your throat she won't let go."

The blond tried to hold back both the huge grin and the accompanying laugh. His jaw ached in the attempt and he took a steadying breath before continuing, "This is a dangerous game you play Sho, not just for us but for her to!"

Sho fidgeted slightly, "yeah well, I'd rather have the Nancy-pit-bull as a friendly pet then come across her in a dark alley and find she's not tied up."

Kei nodded enthusiastically, "I told you, she's obnoxious," he warned and they both chuckled.

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Gabrielle toweled herself dry as her mind replayed the little encounter with Kei. _'Gosh, did that man look good when he was angry?' _was her only thought right now.

She had arrived back at her apartment and for some reason, felt a desperate need to clean it from top to bottom. _'Damn them for the clean freaks they are,"_ she mused.

Now that it was crystal clean, Gabe opted to do the same for herself, showering away all traces of the warehouse memories. Letting them flush away down the drain and hoping like crazy that it was the last time she ever saw them again.

Wrapping the oversized, purple towel around herself she exited the bathroom, walked over to her bed and belly flopped down onto the covers. She lay there awhile as her body sunk into the feather-down cover, a safety blanket from the bad things that lurked outside her safe apartment. It felt good to be safe, in her plush towel, on her fluffy bed, in her warm apartment. Her own little Fort Knox of comfort, speaking of safety, Gabe decided she had better call her dad and tell him what had happened.

Delaying no longer, Gabrielle picked up the phone and dialed the numbers, she still had no idea what she would say to him and as Sho's and Kei's faces came to mind the young woman quickly hung up.

'_For Christ sake Gabe, what the hell are you going to tell him?' _she chastised herself. She took a deep, calming breath. _'OK, better off not saying anything about the two vamps just yet,' _she decided. _'Just let him know bout last night.' _Her hand came up to her forehead and she slapped it lightly. _"Shit, what if he decides to send me home, then I'll never find out if they are bloodsuckers. Shit-shit-shit, think Gabe," _went her internal battle.

'_Ok, ok, don't say anything, yes, underplay the whole thing if he finds out.' _

Happy with her decision, Gabrielle decided clothes were appropriate right now. What the hell was she going to do about all this? She had no allusions about the fact that she would be dead right now if it wasn't for Sho and Kei. How the hell are you supposed to repay someone from that kind of debt? _'Well Gabe, you don't let yourself into their apartment and then insult them enough to get kicked out!' _the brunette rebuked herself. "Wasn't asking YOU!" she said out loud at her own defense.

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The job they had planned for tonight was nearly put on hold, at the last minute; Sho rang Toshi and gave him the go-ahead.

All the way there, Kei had wondered at what tonight's activities would mean for their unsure, blossoming friendship with the young detective. _'Another broken nose for my troubles?' _he wondered.

But it had gone off without a hitch, for some reason Kei couldn't bring himself to feed tonight. The thought of her being called here and seeing what he had done left an unsavory taste in his mouth.

Now that it was over and done with, the three men sat around a café table while Toshi handed over the proceeds of their deeds.

Sho was dumbfounded, "NO, this is all they had, very suspicious," he grumbled. "Kei, what do you think?"

The immortal was slouched back in his chair and had actually been thinking about other things and missed the whole conversation, "wha….." he sat up slightly as he looked at Sho.

The gunslinger pointed half-heartedly at Toshi, "suspicious or what?" he asked his vampiric friend.

Kei didn't know what they were talking about but decided to just go with Sho's side of things, "very suspicious indeed," he mumbled hoping that was the right answer.

"SEE!" Sho almost shouted.

Toshi waved a dismissive hand, "awwww screw you both, find someone else to do it then."

Sho wasn't finished with his rebuke, "you didn't use enough, they were still awake when we got there….idiot! Use more next time, we could have been killed. Hey Kei, hit me," Sho turned away from his quiet friend and held up two fingers. The vampire smiled slightly and quickly threw a cigarette at the held up fingers, missing them completely. Sho was heartbroken and Toshi laughed at the failed attempt.

"Give it time," Kei smiled at his friends whining.

"There is a big job coming," said an elated Toshi. Both of the others moaned in obvious doubt, anything Toshi had planned would be utter bullshit.

"No really, big job, lots of money, you'll see," Toshi defended himself as he got up to leave.

Sho looked over to his friend; Kei seemed even quieter than usual tonight.

"What do you feel like doing for the rest of the night?" he softly queried.

The immortal sighed in thought, leaning his head back and looking up at the array of stars up in the night sky.

"I might pay someone a visit, I've been thinking about what you said," he paused in thought, wondering if this was really the dumbest idea they had come up with yet.

When he looked back at Sho the gunslinger was sitting there with a huge grin on his face.

"Shut up Sho," Kei half smiled at his friend's devious look.

"I didn't say anything," laughed the taller man.

The vampire rolled his eyes and stood, "you don't have to, it's written all over your face you pervert." Kei gave him a gentle smack up the back of the head for his troubles as he walked away, he stopped and turned back to see Sho looking off to the side, obviously thinking some deep thought.

Kei lined him up and threw the cigarette, pleased that it landed firmly between Sho's fingers.

The gunslinger was delighted, a brilliant smile lit up his face at the neat trick that had eluded him till now. The blond giggled and resumed on his way.

"Be home before dawn!" came a concerned shout from the man and Kei turned towards his friend but kept walking backwards.

"Yes mum," he yelled back.

Sho watched him go till he was just another back in the crowded streets, he lit the cigarette Kei had thrown to him and studied it as he thought. His survival had been very uncertain before the vampire came along, the blond brought stability to his life. Kei meant everything to him and Sho wanted nothing more than to see him happy. As time went by, the vampire seemed to fall deeper into depression, occasionally coming out of it for a while but then would fall even deeper than before. Maybe this girl would be just what the doctor ordered, an elixir of life for a vampire. Though, Sho never saw his friend as such, he was just different but still, very much human.

He was determined to see this lead to something, he wanted his Kei back and he didn't mind sharing him with the girl if that's what it took. All this doomsday talk left a hole in Sho's heart, if what the vampire said was true, he would grow old and die leaving Kei to perish alone somewhere. That thought alone scared Sho more than anything.

There had been many times that Sho felt so entwined with his friend that he wished to join him in immortality, but, Kei's terrified face and ardent refusal at the suggestion of it always halted further conversation.

Sometimes Sho felt that even though Kei had let him into his life, he still kept him at arm's length at times.

He would try to move heaven and earth to see Kei have something more than the dreary existence that he'd fallen into.

If this failed and bringing the cop into their lives proved to be an erroneous decision, would either of them have the…..balls, courage, will, mettle or the ruthlessness to kill a woman?

The smoke in his lungs turned bitter and Sho stubbed it out on the table. This was a dangerous game indeed; but, he was playing a hunch and Sho was sure the young cop was more interested in Kei than she should have been.

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"Do you have ANY, idea what you're doing you idiot?" said the reflection in the mirror. Long dark hair surrounded an oval face and Caribbean blue eyes looked at her in accusation.

Gabe sighed, "You're in way over your head girlfriend," she mumbled to herself and let the towel drop to the floor.

Naked, Gabe strolled over to the dresser. Pulling out a pair of plain white underpants and an overly large T-shirt to sleep in. It was very late in the night but her mind was working overtime, why was he a sudden and persistent fixture in her head now?

She felt the extreme need to get shitfaced, the bottle of Jim Beam in her pantry sounded right up her ally and Gabe made her way out of the bedroom to go find it.

She screamed in terror.

"OH JESUS MOTHER FUCKING CHRIST!" shrieked Gabrielle as she back-peddled wildly into the hallway wall. Her hand went to her heart, patting her chest desperately and trying to restart the traumatized muscle.

He stood there, Kei, that smug bastard just stood there. Leaning casually against the opposite wall in the hallway, looking far more pleased with himself than he should at having quite successfully, scared the living bejezus out of her.

"Not a nice feeling, when someone invades your home is it?" he arrogantly said. "I must say Gabrielle; I don't think I've ever heard such language coming from a lady before!"

The thudding in her chest was deafening and Gabrielle could only stand there mutely up against the opposite wall while her heart tried to get some semblance of normality back to its rhythm. Her knees were trembling and threatening to buckle at any minute now and Gabe tried to halt the embarrassing pass-out by placing her hands against the wall. She could only imagine how her startled, saucer wide eyes looked to him, not to mention her unusually wide open, but silent mouth.

With the terror slowly leaving her distressed system, his words penetrated her awareness and fear slowly started morphing into anger.

"Stick around, I'm sure you're gunna hear a lot worse real soon buddy," she huffed at him.

Kei smiled slightly and tilted his head, "Is that an invitation then?" He queried.

Her irritation growing, Gabe gave her legs a helping hand. Pushing up and off the wall, only to reach out to it again for support. What the hell had he done to her; she was a mess in his presence.

"What are you doing here, and, just how long have you been standing there?" she growled out.

The sudden alarmed thought of how naked she had been only moments before added to her already panicked state.

He just stood with arms folded over his chest an annoying smirk plastered across his lips.

"Long enough," he replied. "At least, I didn't let myself into your bedroom, that would have been just plain rude now wouldn't it?"

Gabe got the accusation but chose to ignore it, after all, what could she really say after breaking into his house…..twice?

No she didn't break in the last time; Sho gave her the key so that one doesn't count.

"H-H-How the hell did you get in?" she awkwardly stumbled through.

His eyes sparkled with mischief, "I flew in." Then mock concern crossed his features. "Oh I'm sorry, did I….scare you?"

Gabe raised her ebony, wing shaped brows at his obvious sarcasm, the failing attempt to keep his lips from splitting into a grin made her want to introduce his nose to her fist once again.

"Oh no not at all. I'm used to having weirdo's come into my home uninvited, feel free, pull up a chair!" she casually pointed down the hall to the lounge-room, her voice full of sarcasm and just a hint of anger.

Kei chuckled at her tone, "yes, I myself have had two visits from weirdoes just this past week. They let themselves in, over fed my fish and they actually insulted me in my own home? " he gave a disbelieving look at her. "Can you believe the hide of them, I mean, I know I'm not a violent man but, if push comes to shove, my bite is really a lot worse than my bark!"

Gabrielle just stood there with her mouth agape again until he'd finished. She took his words in and the not-so-hidden meaning behind them. She was so stupid, why hadn't she gone straight down to the local church and filled a spray-bottle full of Holy water or something after seeing what he could do?

Her *deer caught in a spot light* eyes were a very attractive feature Kei decided. He was really unsure as to whether or not he should put her mind at ease, or continue on with his playful innuendos at the expense of her nerves?

Visions of those dead, blood drained bodies floated around inside her head. Even though Kei was taller than her, he was by no means a huge man. Could he really kill and drain those men, some whom were quite decent in size and shape?

'_Not a violent man my ass,'_ she thought.

Then a sobering fact hit her, if he really wanted to kill her, he'd had many opportunities to do it and yet here she still stood, barely!

The young woman fidgeted then blurted out, "Oh, you're…. just loving this aren't you?" she finished in a fluster.

Kei nodded, "totally," he replied with a satisfactory smile.

Gabe tried to regain some sort of composer. "Yeah well, you know what they say, whatever doesn't kill you mikes you stranger," she growled and hesitantly took a couple of steps towards the kitchen. That bottle of Jim Beam was looking better by the moment.

Gabe realized that to get to the blessed bottle and have a bid glass full of courage, she had to walk past Kei in the narrow hallway. Only now did she notice how god-damned narrow it actually was, who made hallways so narrow that you couldn't slip undetected past a vampire anyway? She pulled up short, not game to take on the challenge.

Kei's brows knotted together as she stopped about two steps away from him, "don't you mean stronger, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" he corrected her.

Gabe sarcastically replied, "Yeah well, not in your case Kei, you're about as strange as they come."

Her apprehension at having this supposed blood-sucker in her home was weighing heavily on her nerves.

Should she bolt for the door, should she scream, should she make a run for her gun?"

A hundred scenarios played out in her mind in a matter of seconds on the possible outcome of every tactic that came to her mind, but those disturbing images of blood drained bodies kept popping up and Gabe didn't want to end up like that.

The blond chuckled, her discomfort was obvious and Kei finally decided he should try to put her at ease. "That was some real impressive police defense skills there Gabrielle. Did you learn that one in your basic training to?" he taunted the young woman and her total lack of any retaliation to his sudden appearance.

She gave him a mocking smile but it only seemed to kick her fear up a notch at his mild disdain of her nonexistent retribution. Maybe she should just break his nose again to remind him. It sort of only hit her then and Gabe looked intently at him. Bastard's nose seemed perfect to her, not a bruise anywhere.

Gabrielle was certain that if he'd changed his mind and was here to kill her, she didn't want to be sober for it. Head down and eyes to the floor she scuttled past him, letting out her breath as she successfully navigated around his lithe frame in that fucked-up-too-small-for-comfort hallway.

As she scurried past him he caught a whiff of that enticing smell, coconuts and vanilla will always remind of him of her now. That combined with the alluring smell of fear caused a reaction that had eluded him for…..well he couldn't really put a timeframe on that almost forgotten feat now could he?

He pushed off the wall using his butt and followed the brunette. He had to begrudgingly admit, he liked her flustered red cheeks and how her heart was pounding within her chest. The fact that he could feel her blood racing along its vein enclosed course, and hear those raspy little breaths she was taking to try and calm herself was just another thing to add to his desires.

That he could easily take her was not lost on him. That he could easily end that rapidly beating heart in an instant was in the back of his mind. If he ended her here and now, would that solve all their problems?

No, Gabrielle was not the problem here, he was. How could he even contemplate killing her just to make his life any easier?

When Gabe entered the kitchen she was at a loss for what to do next, the room held an arsenal of weapons from knives, glasses, frying pans to boiling hot water. But damn it, she didn't have a ultra-violet light handy anywhere.

The nervous girl automatically went through the motion of retrieving the bottle and a glass as her mind was consumed with how his close proximity had felt. Gabe poured the golden liquid into the glass with one shaky hand while the other fiddled with her shirt in an attempt to lower the hem.

In the end, Gabe opted for sculling her drink, hoping that Dutch courage would only be seconds away with this very un-lady-like tactic.

Gabe fidgeted for a few seconds more as the burn traveled down her throat and into a very grateful stomach. No, Dutch courage hadn't appeared yet so she decided to give it a helping hand. Without any finesse, Gabe sloshed another liberal shot into her glass and after placing the bottle down, sculled the second course of her dinner for the night.

Feeling a tad bit better, she turned to see what he was up to and froze, he'd settled a few short inches behind her trembling form, looking down on her with a pure predatory look in his eyes.

Gabe didn't think her heart could take much more of him, she didn't know where she stood with this man. Was he here to kill her or just to let her know she wasn't out of his reach?

Every run-in she had had with him left her with the feeling that her life was at risk somehow. It was like being on a continuous ride through the haunted house.

Gabrielle plucked up the courage to speak, "OK, it pains me to say this but, you're right. It sucks to have someone in your house."

He raised his brows at her and gave a one sided smile, "specially the enemy," he softly added.

The girls breath hitched and she gave him a fearful, enquiring look, "is that what I am Kei?" she hesitantly asked. "Am I your enemy?"

He leaned in just a little closer, feeling every breath she exhaled and again inhaling that unique fragrance of hers.

"I don't know Gabrielle, you tell me," he was so close to her now.

She was caught in those blue depths of his and his closeness seemed to surround her, holding not only her body immobile but seemingly her brain as well.

Her mouth opened but the words eluded her and Gabe couldn't work out which one of his eyes to focus on at such close range. Her orbs flicked from one to the other and she suddenly felt like one of his bubble-eyed fish begging for food. Gabe snapped her mouth closed and cleared her throat, almost regretfully coming back to the land of reality.

"I-I'm not your enemy Kei, I told you. I couldn't care less that killed those bastards. They were all bad men, every single one of them," she said with a notable tremble in her voice.

Kei never moved from his position, his steal cold eyes searched hers as if reading for the truth in her words.

"And what if you've got it all wrong Gabrielle, did you ever consider that street kid was just taking advantage of you?" he spoke softly to her, not accusing, just enquiring.

She was squirming now at his closeness but, he noted the girl was not pushing him away either.

"I-I could have let it drop altogether, but, until I saw you the other night. You snapped a man's neck with your bare hands; I've never seen anyone capable of doing that before. The way you move Kei, I've never seen anything like that either. I'm not your enemy, you saved my life and I owe you. I-I just want to know…..who are you?"

Kei dared to put his hands on her, reaching up slowly to cup her check; she was so warm to the touch and her skin so soft. She visibly shuddered at the contact and the vampire knew why.

"What if I'm just a man Gabrielle, what would you do?" his voice was but a whisper against her lips and he was closer to her now then he'd ever been to another human other than Sho.

The immortal could feel his own blood racing; his heart seemed to buzz in excitement as both her hands came up to touch his cold appendage on her face.

"Your fingers are freezing Kei," she cupped his hand in hers and blew a strong warm breath over his skin to try and warm them up.

He was sure his heart flip-flopped inside his chest as her lips, almost by accident, touched his fingers.

His own voice faltered a little in response, "It-It's cold outside," he whispered. It was as if this moment was so very fragile and any loud words or sudden movements would destroy it forever.

His other hand found its way to her waist, gently holding her in this delicate moment, unwilling to let her move in the slightest lest it fade away.

The young woman looked back up to him, her eyes cloudy as if lost in some fog.

"I think that, if you're a man Kei it would make me very happy right now?" she answered nervously. With each moment the gap between them closed slightly, his hand on her waist, slowly moved to encircle her and unabashedly, he pulled her fully into an embrace.

He whispered, "what if, I'm your feared vampire Gabrielle?" their lips were so very close now, both breathing erratically at the promise of what might come.

Gabe's legs felt so weak, the whole situation had just unfolded too quickly and it felt like she was on a rollercoaster to euphoric oblivion. And, she wasn't too interested in getting off the ride at all right now.

"I think, as long as you're not here to kill me, I don't care Kei," she whispered. As soon as the girl finished the sentence, Kei crushed her lips beneath his. Both his hands came up to the back of her head and hold her mouth securely to his. It wasn't a feral attack of mouths opening and closing, just the simple strong pressure of longing to feel such intimate contact. He held her this way, feeling much more than just the touch of flesh meeting flesh. It was like all his pent up emotion was releasing itself into the girl through this one, passionate kiss, showing her just how he desperately needed this human connection.

The brunette moaned against his mouth and he moved her around so her back was against the wall, it was only then that he released the kiss. Both taking a deep breath while studying the response of the other.

His lips opened and he dipped his head towards her for another taste, pulling up a scant few millimeters before touching. Her mouth opened in anticipation of the kiss and they both hung there with lips open for a while before he spoke.

"What about your code of ethics detective," he queried softly. "If you have a killer in your grasp, wouldn't you want to bring him to justice?"

He ran the tip of his nose around hers as he waited for the reply; he was almost desperate for her to give him the answer he wanted. It would tear what remained of his heart out to know she could, and would, turn on him once she knew what he was.

He could feel the slightest pressure of her pulling him into her soft, warm body. This was testing his limitations of self control, but then again, he was thoroughly enjoying the test.

"Bad guys kill really bad guys; I think I can live with those ethics Kei. Not that you're bad, I mean, maybe a little naughty, misguided, freaky but not bad," she was rambling now and he couldn't help but give the girl a wide smile.

Reluctantly, he released her and backed slowly away.

"That is good to hear Gabrielle," he a slight bow of his head to accompany that smile. "Until next time then," he chuckled.

Gabe was a little shocked at the sudden parting, especially after it was getting so damn hot. Whirlwind, that's what he was. She was on a Kei rollercoaster ride, within a haunted house, while it was being tossed around inside a tornado. Yep, that pretty much summed up what being around him was like.

But she begrudgingly admitted, he was cool, calm and collected at the same time and she found that extremely tantalizing.

"Um, you're, leaving?" she managed to get out.

Kei found her disheveled hair, her uncertain eyes and the way she hadn't moved a muscle quite amusing.

"Yes my little scaredy-cat," he grinned.

"A-pffft-what? That's not funny Kei, don't you scare me like that again," she scolded him. "Next time knock will you?"

Kei tilted his head to the side in an apologetic way as he backed up further to the sliding glass doors and the balcony beyond.

"I owed you one," he said then corrected himself. "Actually, I owe you two," he chuckled and Gabe finally found her legs and took a few steps towards him.

The vampire held up a halting hand, "Stay there Gabrielle, I have a surprise for you."

The detective gave him a quizzical look, her dark brows knotting together slightly but she pulled up anyway.

"Turn around," he said, smiling encouragingly. "Turn around and face the wall."

Gabe had serious doubts about the sincerity of that smile but she didn't think he would hurt her; after all, he could have done it three times over by now if he'd really wanted to?

With a sigh she nodded her head as she turned around, "don't go doing anything weird now Kei." _'Or anything weirder then you usually do' _she thought

Gabe heard him giggle, "I promise Gabrielle," he said.

The young woman wondered what he was up to, a surprise, what could it possibly be? As long as it wasn't a baseball bat around the back of the head she would be quite content.

The seconds drew out and nothing was forthcoming, she couldn't even hear him shuffling around.

"Kei, are you still there?" Gabe turned when he never responded, regardless of whether she spoilt the surprise or not.

He was nowhere to be seen, she quickly scanned her apartment. Not there either.

The detective almost ran to the front door but the latch was still firmly in place which meant he never came in this way and he most definitely never left this way.

"You've got to be kidding me," she choked out and stormed over to the balcony and looked out over the edge. Nothing!

Gabe lived ten stories up; there was no way someone could scale up and down the side of this building. Just to confirm. The girl looked up the building above her, still nothing.

"No way, just not possible." she said to herself.

It was all too much, he'd been here, scared the shit out of her, kissed her and now that Gabe thought about it, she still never got one answer out of him. "Bastard," she grumbled out load.

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Sho was sitting alone in the dimly lit park just watching all the people wander past, lovers walking hand in hand, kids holding their parents hands, even old people holding wrinkly hands. Everyone, lovingly holding hands accept him.

He looked down at his own long slender fingers and wondered what it would be like to walk through the park late at night with a lovers hand entwined in his.

How long had it been to feel a warm body next to his? A very long time that's for sure. As if on cue a hand appeared from nowhere and slipped into his, he jolted upright and looked at the culprit.

Kei smiled down at his saddened friend, gave his hand a quick squeeze then sat down beside him and stretched out.

With his day dreaming put on hold, the gunslinger turned towards his friend. "So, what do you think?" asked Sho.

"I'll tell you what I think, all her police training means shit when she gets a fright," laughed Kei.

The taller man smiled, "wish I'd been there to see it. You're lucky you didn't end up bleeding again, mind you, that was funny as hell to. Never seen anyone get a hit in on you like that…..except me of course. Well, she certainly had it…."

"I kissed her…" Kei very softly interrupted, but he felt more than saw Sho turn his way.

The gunslinger gaped at his friend, "You kissed her!" he repeated totally stunned yet excited about the prospect. Then a huge grin spread over his face, "that's so, disgusting," both chuckling at the jibe.

A curious look crossed the mortals face, "is she a good kisser?" That beautiful big smile of Sho's returned and he raised his brows in question.

The mortal was sure Kei blushed ever-so-slightly before whining his reply, "I don't kiss and tell Sho," and now the game of tit-for-tat set in.

Sho nodded, "well, seeing as you think she's obnoxious and all, it must have been nauseating for you," he leant back and made himself comfortable, grinning like the Cheshire cat.

Kei retaliated, "you know, I have kissed a girl before!"

Sho shook his head in denial, "I've never seen it," he mocked.

"And you're not going to," Kei quickly added.

Sho's playfulness was suddenly in overdrive and he reached for Kei, "come on Kei, give me a kiss, just one little kiss, don't be shy now," he pulled at the immortal as the vampire tried to bolt.

"Get off me Nancy boy," squealed Kei as a full on wrestle ensured, both giggling like school boys having a playground tussle.

"Pretend I'm Nancy Drew, not Nancy boy Kei!" chuckled Sho and five seconds later the vampire had the man tied up on the ground like a pretzel, Sho still laughing despite the overwhelming loss, he mockingly yelled. "Help, rape!" to any passerby in the night.

No one paid them any head, "You wish," laughed Kei as he let go of the frisky human.

Sho untangled himself and stood, dusted off the grass while grinning at the blond, "One kiss from a girl and suddenly, you don't find me sexy anymore?"

Kei shook his head and chuckled, "I've got to get you a girlfriend," he snickered as he stood. "Come on, let's go home."

Sho wrapped his arm leisurely over Kei's shoulders as the two men slowly walked off into the night. "You know I let you win right?" said Sho.

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Well there you go, I hope you are enjoying the story so far and thank you again to those that have bothered to leave me the wonderful reviews.

Look forward to hearing from you, chow for now.


	5. Lost between paperwork & handcuffs

Hi guys;

Well another chapter is up and I really hope you enjoy it.

**Eadwine63: **Yes I agree, Kei is desperately trying to retain any semblance of his humanity so things like eating, drinking alcohol or smoking are something he does regularly! Oh and never apologize for long reviews, I love them.

**Addict to Fanfics**: LOL, I personally would love to hear Kei giggle! It would be so cute and how could you possible resist that kind of cute?

**Fantasi88:** Thank you =)

**Rose444100:** You know, I don't know why more people don't keep an ultra violet light handy for just those scenarios?You just never know when a vampire is going to turn up now do you…..lmao.

You guys have been great reviewers and I do take on board all that you say so thank you!

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The troubled blond vampire trembled slightly in the cool night air. Kei's breath left his lips in long, wispy white clouds which the wind quickly stole away.

'_What are the dreams of monsters?' _He wondered while standing there. Were his so different to anyone else's?

'_Are the horrific nightmares of a man the euphoric reveries of evil creatures?_

_And what exactly characterises evil? Did someone's deeds earn them the title or could you just be evil by being a demon, creature or vampire regardless of their actions?'_

If he kept feeding off the depravity of humanity, would that make him an even worse kind of creature?

If he was a murderer, was he therefore considered a monster?

And if he was a monster, then that would supposedly make him evil, right?

Then add to the fact that if he was this evil monster that fed on the vilest of men; did that make him a demon of the worst possible kind? A succubus of all things malevolent, drinking it in till it oozed from every fibre of his very being.

This was the image he was conjuring of himself as he watched the young detective, Gabrielle, combing through the bodies he's left behind this night.

Next moment, she was beside him, her beautiful blue eyes full of condemnation for what he'd done here.

"You are a monster Kei!" she snarled at him and the vampire knew she was right. The scene below them was nothing short of a mass slaughter. "You killed those men, they had family! They were fathers, brothers, sons and you murdered them all. How could anyone love a creature like you?"

Kei let his head fall forward; grief welled in his chest and threatened to consume him. The overwhelming need to let his tears fall unhindered overcame the need to hold them back, and they made their salty treks down his cheeks.

Gabrielle was right; it was not her fault that he was this, grotesque monster. Out of time and very out-of-place in the world of man.

But it still hurt to have her accuse him of being this repulsive thing. If the beast had any humanity left within it, shouldn't it do this world a favour and end a most miserable existence?

"Gabrielle please," he softly said and raised his eyes to hers. He so desperately wanted her forgiveness for what he'd done, or perhaps, forgiveness for what he was.

The woman stood there in her righteous wrath, her gun levelled at his chest, both willing and ready to sentence him for the crime.

Her intensity shocked him and Kei staggered back a step, not that he feared the weapon, it was the look of loathing in her eyes that he feared more and it chilled him to his very core.

It was one reserved only for the most repulsive of things. Disgust, hostility, nausea and the word, abomination, all combined and accused him within those once beautiful orbs of hers.

She tilted her head to the side, her jet black tresses falling partially across her face. "You are damned Kei, a wretched creature of hell that doesn't deserve to live in this world. I'm sending you back where you belong, back to oblivion.

Gabrielle fired her gun four times at point blank range into the vampire's chest. His body jolting violently with every hit until the last bullet put him heavily on the ground.

The pain was excruciating and he cried out, blood falling from his lips to the pavement below. The immortals lungs within his chest were opened up to the chill night air, the bullets had not simply made small holes, they had caused massive cavities that left him gasping for air.

Crimson fluid ran like thin rivulets from his broken body to the ground below making intricate swirling patterns of dark red on the concrete as he swayed back and forth while trying to stand.

Where was Sho? He desperately needed him right now!

The ground was so very cold, his arms shaking with the strain of trying to support his weight in this weakened state. He coughed up more viscous crimson, choking on his own blood and looked up at the girl; her face remained passive while her weapon was still aimed his way.

"Gabrielle please, you're making a mistake…."

She stopped any further words abruptly. "NO Kei, you're the only mistake around here, one which I'm only too happy to rectify." And she fired two more shots.

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Kei almost launched himself out of bed with a mortified cry, clutching at his chest where the bullets had hit him, only to find his body intact and quite unharmed.

Terrified, raspy breathes forced their way in and out of his lungs and a small groan of relief passed over trembling lips.

It took a few seconds to separate reality from the nightmare and a slow comprehension that Gabrielle hadn't really shot him seeped into his traumatized mind.

It had all been a dream but, it had felt so very real. What the hell was his subconscious thinking to come up with that scenario anyway?

Angrily he threw the covers back and sat on the side of his bed, running shaky fingers through damp, blond locks to pull it back off a sweat drenched face.

His mind wandered back to the dream, would Gabrielle think of him as this monster, this abomination of a thing. Would she indeed shoot him when his…..condition, became apparent to her?

Kei's trembling hands found his chest again, it had felt so real. Those bullets had hurt him more than anything else he'd ever felt in his life. But in the aftermath, what had hurt more, her words or those bullets?

Maybe what his subconscious was telling him that this, great idea of Sho's, was a really bad idea. That Gabrielle wouldn't understand or wouldn't accept him for what he was.

He doubted anyone would simply accept a nightmare into their life.

'_Oh you're a vampire, that's really cool!' _he scoffed as the thought appeared in his head.

Maybe it was his own deeply embedded fear of anyone finding out what he was!

He really didn't accept himself so why should he expect anyone else to accept him.

But, the girl didn't really seem to mind the other night when he'd put the idea to her; she'd kissed him regardless of what he might have been.

He knew it was a rush for her as much as it had been for him. He could hear her heart palpitate when he moved in close to her, he could see her pupils dilate and see her cheeks flush.

The detective was afraid of him, he knew that but, that fear seemed to drive her attraction of him in some way.

Either that or she felt quite safe behind that little tin badge of hers, sometimes people thought themselves six foot tall and bulletproof.

Was it courage or false bravado that had her break into his home, hit him in the face and stand toe to toe with a guy that was possibly a murderer?

Some cops thought their badges were magical, you just wave it around and an invisible force field surrounds you making you completely safe!

'_Silly girl, No one is safe these days, not even monsters,' _he thought_._

There was a soft thud of footsteps throughout the house and they settled in front of his bedroom door. A gentle tap on wood followed and without waiting for a reply, Sho entered looking a little sleepy but very concerned.

"Thought I heard you call out, are you ok?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Was it that same dream you keep having?" he quietly asked.

Kei sighed. "No, it was a very different dream this time," was his sad response.

Sho ambled over and sat down on the bed next to his life-long friend. Wrapping an arm around Kei's shoulders, he pulled him in close.

"I gather it still wasn't a good dream then?" he asked the immortal and gave a yawn.

Kei gave the smallest of smiles, "well, I guess, good in a way that I didn't see Luka burst into flames. Bad in the way of Gabrielle shot me six times at point blank range!" he finished.

Sho raised his brows in surprise at finding Gabrielle in Kei's dreams, "Well, you did say she's obnoxious didn't you?"

Kei let his smile broaden slightly more, "yeah, I did say that didn't I?"

Sho was happy with this new result in Kei's dreams; apart from the fact that Gabe had shot him, which was definitely not a bonus but on the flip side, Kei couldn't die by being shot.

"So Kei, why did the obnoxious detective who you kissed shoot you?" he continued with a slight chuckle.

The vampire let his face fall into his hands and Sho could tell that whatever had happened, it upset his friend. The recent smile quickly left his face and he hugged Kei just a little bit tighter.

"She saw what I'm capable of; she saw I was a monster." The vampire said bitterly through his fingers. "She said…..how could anyone love a creature like me?"

At hearing this Sho was mortified, "Kei, you are not a monster, the people we kill are the monsters." Sho grabbed the immortals wrist and pulled it away from his face. Kei, you know I love you and, I refuse to believe you are anything other than a man and my most trusted friend!"

Kei shook off the comforting hold and stood, taking a few steps away then turning round to face the mortal. "That's just it Sho, I am not a man and you are wasting your life, you need to be with your own kind. Get out and meet people while you still can. You are not immortal Sho; you will age and die, while I will go on alone."

Sho sighed in agitation, it was the same old argument they always had, actually, it was the only argument they ever had. "Not this again Kei," he huffed. He raised a pleading hand towards the vampire. "What can I say to make you understand? What can I do to get you to see I'm not going anywhere? My life is with you, regardless of what you might think. And what I do with my life is my decision, and I decided long ago that I'm spending it alongside you," he adamantly finished off.

Kei's pitch rose "You don't understand Sho, I feed off evil men, I'm becoming like them. I…could turn on you!"

Sho scoffed at the thought, "as if you'd dare," he challenged the vampire. "Jerk!"

X

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Gabrielle looked into the dark eyes of Lieutenant Shin-Lo. She could tell he was trying not to sound harsh but he wanted to be clear on the matter. Her agitation clearly showing as Gabe repeatedly drum rolled her fingers on the hospital bed and impatiently huffed.

Shin had been propped up into sitting position and wearing the very unflattering hospital gown; most people she knew would rather go naked then be caught dead in that attire.

Trying to lighten the mood, the young woman reached for the Jelly babies she'd brought him as a get well gift and ripped open the packet. "Jelly Baby?" she asked and proffered the open packet to him.

Lo cracked the barest of a smile and held out his un-injured arm. Gabe poured the fruity little treats out into his hand; a rather large amount hoping it would distract him for a while and give her the chance to get her thoughts in order.

Sighing as he looked expectantly at her and Gabrielle blundered on, "Shin, I know you've wanted that bastard 'Lee' dead for a long time now! I know his death means a lot to your family. But, if you're going after those two men I need to tell you…"

Detective Lo interrupted her, "NO Gabrielle!" he almost yelled, startling the young woman into stunned silence.

His face softened and he sighed, "you must understand Gabe, Lee's death will be most welcomed indeed. That man killed my young nephew, and his black market weapons kill many young people of Mallepa. He was one of the worst criminals this town has ever seen, and, those two men ended his reign of tyranny! Not only did they kill the man I've wanted dead for the past five years, but, they saved my life in the process."

The young woman could only stare at Lo's words, did that mean Kei and Sho were off the hook for their little massacre?

"Are you not, going after them?" she enquired.

Lo shook his head, "no I'm not Gabe," he sternly said. "And neither will any other officer!"

Gabe was in shock, "may I ask why?" she ventured to say. Though she was more than relieved that her two new acquaintances were not going to have a mob of police officers descend on their heads, she wanted to know exactly why Lo was letting this slide.

The senior detective made himself a little more comfortable, he sighed as he looked out the window and collected his thoughts.

"Aside from those violent gang members being taken of the populace, the crime rate for Mallepa has dropped by 62% since the gangland murders started Gabrielle, did you know that? Illegal substance abuse has halved and so has robbery. I know you were sent here specifically to find out who is responsible for these killings but, I have to wonder at the logic of removing these men from their self-appointed vocation?"

Gabe snapped her open mouth closed, "are you saying those two men last night are the same ones that committed the gangland murders?" Gabe had her suspicions all right, but having Lo voice it seemed to make it all fall into place.

"I don't know if they are the same ones or not, and, I know this will hurt your pride Gabrielle, but after what we've been through, I feel obliged to tell you the truth!"

The young detective got a sinking feeling in her gut.

"The truth about what?" she hesitantly asked.

He looked into her eyes and reached for her hand, "you were never going to find them Gabe, we made sure of it!"

She physically winced at his declaration, "I, don't understand!" she said in confusion. Did he mean that they were against her from finding them all along?

He kept hold of her hand, squeezing it gently for reassurance. "Look at it from our perspective, we have someone that goes around killing the really bad criminals of this town, bad men like Lee, the bastards that we can't get to but somehow they can."

Gabrielle blinked in surprise at Lo swearing, he'd never said anything as bad as 'damn' the whole time she'd known him.

"Then you come along," he continued softly. "You are a foreigner on a mission to take these skilled men out of the system. I don't usually condone killing but, those that are on the receiving end of their justice deserve death, I most certainly will look the other way and so will any other police officer that has had loved ones murdered by these gangs. I'm sorry Gabe, but we never would have let you succeed. Of course we went to investigate the killings; basically it was for body identification. Didn't you find it suspicious how there was never any clues left behind Gabrielle? It wasn't that there weren't any, it was just that by the time you arrived, it had all been removed!"

Gabe felt betrayed by Lo, she felt betrayed by everyone right now. The woman pulled her hand out of Lo's, annoyed at him for the truth he'd just told her. Her jaw muscles worked as she tried to find the words to convey her hurt.

"Was I a joke to you all, just some silly girl who wouldn't know any better?" her voice rose slightly.

The senior Detective shook his head, "no Gabe, it wasn't like that. You were a threat to the future and stability of Mallepa! If you found these men, killed them or had them thrown in jail, then others would have come in and filled the shoes of the criminals they had taken out. This town would be overcome with bad men again; none on the force wanted that to happen."

She shook her head in denial, "So-so-so, you just, led me on with a fantasy tale!" she blurted out. "This ridiculous, wild goose chase about vampires and shit?"

She stood up, wanting to walk away from this place and not look back. They had seen her coming as a threat and an insult. They had kept her off course and away from the killers on purpose. Fed her false information or removed evidence so she'd never succeed.

Lo looked around her to the door, "Gabrielle! Close the door and sit down, that's an order detective!" he growled menacingly at her. Lo and tried not to let the girl under his skin but unfortunately, he had grown close to the young woman and all her curious mannerisms; he couldn't let her walk out like this. She stood there a moment longer, dressed in black slacks, black shirt and jacket, stylish but as usual with her, too much black for his tastes.

The brunette was shocked at his anger, he had never spoken to her that way and she was torn between walking over to the door and closing it like he'd said. Or walking right through it and flipping him the bird on the way out.

Respect for the man had her walking over and closing it and returning to sit beside him with a huff of indignation.

"I'm telling you the truth Gabe, because I believe you have the intelligence to understand why we kept you at arms-length. Now like me, you have a life debt to these men. You cannot betray them or the honour code you are held to."

Gabe shook her head, "wait, wait, wait, what life-debt-honour-code-thingy are we talking about here?" she abruptly asked.

"Gabrielle," Lo reverted back to his fatherly tone again. "There is a code on the streets of Mallepa. This code is never violated for any reason; even an old police officer like me would never dishonour himself by betraying someone that had killed a man to save my life, especially when it was Lee he'd just killed.

You are not from here, you might not understand it but I warn you Gabrielle, never betray this code. Need I remind you, that you were two seconds away from having a bullet lodged in your brain before they saved you?"

The young woman looked undecided on what to say next so he offered her his insights. "This was a terrible incident Gabe, many good men lost," he sighed and shook his head slowly in sadness at his dead subordinates.

"But, out of all this chaos and our deception, there is one blessing, for you and for me. You are still alive Gabrielle, you get to go home, you get to see your father again, you get to breathe deeply and thank your god that you can still take that breath. I," he pointed to himself to emphasise his words. "I get to go home and hug my family. I get to tuck my grandchildren into bed again; I get to tell my wife I love her and my son and daughter how proud I am of them. I get to tell my beloved sister that her son's death has been avenged, and the man responsible for his death is a cold corpse. Those two, friends, did this for us Gabe!"

"I'm sorry for misleading you Gabe and I'm sorry you feel betrayed. This was not personal; we would have done the same to any that turned up in our station with the same agenda as you."

The young woman took a deep breath, though she was still smarting from being misled, she could see why they did it. She had even thought to herself quite a few times that the gangland killers were doing this town a service.

"I'm not going to pretend like I'm not pissed off Lo, I….am feeling so damned stupid right now. You had me believing in fucking vampires for Christ sake!"

Lo shifted uncomfortably in his bed, "I know you're upset, and I hope when you return home, you can forgive us for what we've done?"

Gabrielle looked at him in confusion, "Oh I'm not going home yet Sir, I have been sent here to do a job by someone with a lot of pull, I can't go home empty handed!"

The elder shook his head in disappointment, "then you will not get any help from us Gabe, I'm sorry, but if you insist on going after these two, then we'll oppose you every step of the way. If you betray the code then, your life here will be a short one!"

Gabe really didn't have a clue on what she wanted to do as far as Kei and Sho were concerned. That she had some sort of an attraction for them she couldn't deny but, taking them down was why she was here!

Now things were all too overwhelming and confusing and she could only stare at Lo and his threat mutely.

As far as she was concerned, there had been far too much death pointed in her direction already. To have the one man she trusted most in this 'Godforsaken' country turn on her, was almost too much.

Her lips pressed tightly together to stop them from doing the trembling thing before she burst into tears.

Lo saw her eyes mist over and her lips tremble, having had two children of his own, two grandchildren and seven nieces and nephews, he knew the onset of water-works a mile away.

He grabbed her hand again and pulled her over to the edge of the bed, "I say this for your own good Gabe, you must let this go, a life debt is…!" She cried out and pulled away from him before he could say anymore.

"You don't understand, I won't be seen as a failure, running home with my tail tucked between my legs." And with a final glare at each other, she turned and walked out.

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Gabrielle stalked towards the car park with the attitude of a double crossed woman out for blood; she just HATED this town right now and everyone in it.

The brunette had never felt so despairingly alone and betrayed, it was one of those 'the whole world is against me' moments.

Thoughts collided around inside her head_, 'shoot everyone involved, get on the next plane home and fuck everyone, or just go back to my little flat on the 10__th__ floor and ball my eyes out!'_

The young woman opted for the latter; crying now was all she wanted to do. Her world had turned upside down and she didn't know in which direction North lay.

Gabe turned the key and brought the engine to life, her only thought now was home!

The day was bright and sunny but her mood was dark and bitchy, slowing down to avoid the many pedestrians that seemed to think they had right of way on the road; Gabe gave them a teary evil eye, and then screeched to a halt.

There, strutting down the street in the middle of the day was Sho! The woman groaned in dismay and let her head fall forward onto the steering wheel of shame.

All those ridiculous things she'd accused them of and how she'd broken into their home came racing back at her with a vengeance. Flashing neon lights saying "this woman is a certified lunatic," blinked on the back of her eyelids and she groaned again.

She had some apologising to do!

A horn sounding behind Gabe bringing her back to reality and she pulled the car over to the side and parked.

Hesitantly grabbing for the door handle, she eased out and stood uncertain on the street. What was she to do, how to approach him and what to say. A simple _'I was wrong, you're not a Vamp at all'_ really didn't sound right.

Gabrielle decided to tail Sho while she worked up the courage to talk to him; she adjusted her black jacket at set off at a safe distance, just leisurely following the taller man, just another person on the crowded streets.

Gabe perked up when Sho disappeared into a shop, her pace increased until she got to the building in question. She inconspicuously peeked in the doorway, noticing him towards the rear talking to some girl that sat crouched on the floor. He shook his head looking confused and walked out the back where she lost him.

After a few indecisive minutes, Gabe entered the shop and stared in amazement. There were rows upon rows of tanks lining the walls, all filled with amazing coloured little creatures swimming around in tanks. _'Well, now I know where you get them from,' _she thought. She moved in closer to see the different varieties and colours on offer, strange aquatic creatures with bubble eyes and some with huge heads. Gabe had never been a true admirer of fish but these little guys were just gorgeous.

Her attention was drawn to the back of the room where the young woman still sat there crouched on the floor. Her unwavering attention was focused on a small container at her feet, Gabe approached her.

"Hello," said the detective but the girl never looked up.

"Hell-ooooo," said Gabe louder this time but still the girl just sat there staring into the dish.

Gabrielle couldn't help herself; she moved to stand over the girl and looked into the small container.

'_It's a fish,' _she thought then raised her brows in annoyance at the obvious outcome of what would be in a bowl in a fish store.

The pitiful creature lay on its side in a small amount of water, its mouth gulping determinedly trying in a last ditch effort to cling to life.

"What's wrong with it?" queried Gabe.

The girl never looked up to acknowledge her but at least she answered this time.

"It's sick," was all she said.

The young woman looked closely at the girl, "can you fix it?" she asked.

"No, it's dying," and she continued to just stare at the desperate sight.

Gabrielle, now convinced the girl was mentally challenged, bent down and grabbed the suffering fish out of the bowl and gently deposited it onto the ground. With the heel of her black boot, she stomped on the goldfishe's head, ending its misery abruptly.

Fish girl squealed in alarm!

"Whattttttttt?" yelled Gabe. "You said you couldn't fix it!" she said in defense of her actions.

Both girls swung round as two men came upon them, the detective in her quickly sizing them up, rent collectors by the looks. Both were too sure of themselves with a cocky attitude that rolled off them in waves. They sauntered in checking the place over and glared at the poor fish girl still in tears. "You," one barked at the dim witted thing.

"Where is Shinji, we are here to collect," he yelled then eyed Gabe off warningly, she simply turned away as if this didn't concern her, and sauntered over to the tanks full of colorful critters.

This sort of thing was rampant in the town, cops had no power to stop it and any that tried didn't live to tell their grandkids.

Gabe, pissed off with the world right now, wasn't in the mood to do anyone any favors.

Leaning in close she whispered against the glass, "You just let me know if they make one false move!" Bulging eyes and hungry mouths stared back at her. And Gabe did a quick scan around the tanks to see if there were any flakes on hand.

She was distracted from her course a moment later when another man stumbled into the room, his unsteady movement and confused manner telling Gabe instantly that he was impaired to a point of smashingly drug-fucked. Despite that awful trick he'd played on her, she was surprisingly relieved to see Sho enter behind the guy.

Gabrielle was determined that she would apologize for her trespass, but if he thought she would just let his little trick go unpunished, he was in for a rude shock.

Sho's eyes darted between the two men and then fell on the woman and they blinked rapidly in surprise.

Gabrielle played the innocent bystander as the thugs did their bullying tactic on the staggering idiot. The conversation became heated and soon changed to Cantonese and understanding was lost to her from then on in.

Gabe could only guess at what they wanted and for why, cautiously her hand went under her jacket to rest on the hilt of her gun. She quickly sized them up and decided what parts of the men she would target. Headshots at this range would be quick and easy, a little messy but there was so many colors in here already, what harm would a few more do? And besides, she really felt like shooting someone right now and making a bloody mess.

The thugs got physical and the man got knocked to the ground, her raven brows raised in admiration as Sho stepped in quickly to defend the man. A wad of money was pushed towards them as well as heated words before a perfect 'fuck off' from Sho in English and they finally left.

He stood there with his hands on his slim hips watching them leave before hitting her with that look.

Gabe smiled mischievously, "my-my, look at you! Making friends where ever you go," she ribbed him.

Sho gave her an exasperated sigh and helped the man to stand. "Are you stalking me detective?" he queried her while helping the man to remain in an upright position.

She blinked her eyelids in rapid succession and gave him her most innocent smile, "absolutely," she replied.

The impaired man looked from Sho to her and back again, "she's a cop?" he slurred the question.

Sho raised one brow and nodded his head, "Shinji, this is detective 'break and enter.' Detective, this is my brother, Shinji."

The brunette gave him a glare and tilted her head towards the smiling brother, "pleasure meeting you," she said, then turned her glare back at the heckler.

"Strange name," said Shinji and Sho scoffed. "Strange girl to," he said under his breath.

Gabrielle pursed her lips as several retorts came to mind but instead she asked, "Wanna grab a coffee Sho?"

Both men looked at her like she'd suddenly sprouted two heads. Shinji giggled, slapped Sho on the back then turned and wobbled away, both Sho and Gabe watching him go.

Indecision flitted across his face; he was clearly looking for any downside to this invitation or a plausible excuse to bolt like a rabbit.

"It's just coffee Sho, don't look so scared," she giggled.

He looked affronted, "I'm not scared!" he quickly replied. "Just cautious, you seem like big trouble for such a little thing."

The young woman raised one brow, "All women are trouble Sho," she replied. "Some more than others," she sighed in a sad way.

The gunslinger took a harder look at her, she had lost something. He couldn't tell what it was but the girl seemed, crestfallen.

"What's the occasion?" he queried while studying her more. She looked to the floor for several seconds then slowly her eyes rose to his.

"An apology," she softly said.

Sho took a few steps towards her, "then I know the perfect place," he said and he held his hand out for her to take.

The girl looked at the hand for a few seconds before taking it and without a word; Sho started pulling her out of the shop. He noticed an out of place orange on the floor, his nose screwed up when a fish with a squashed head appeared before him. He barely recognized it as the sick fish that was dying in a bowl only moments before.

He pointed at it. "Did you do that Gabrielle?" he asked but she only groaned in reply.

They walked along the street in silence, he glanced down at her and suddenly noticed she had a dapple of faded freckles across her nose, barely noticeable but easy to make out up this close under the sunny day.

Feeling mischievous, Sho held a hand towards the sky.

"Well look detective, your wish came true, the sun came out!" he teased the girl.

She smiled and he noticed her cheeks flare red before she dropped her head, when she brought it back up to look at him, the smile had turned impish but her cheeks still burned.

"You know Sho; I have a gun for those sort of heckling comments," she chided him.

He gave a short chuckle, "so do I detective, and mine is much bigger than yours!"

Gabe did a double take at him; she really had a long way to go in working this man out.

Sho lead the way, but instead of a coffee shop, he decided they needed a bar. By the looks of her, she could use a good stiff drink and he wasn't feeling opposed to the idea either.

They entered a little place that he and Kei sometimes visited, and despite only two other people there, he steered her away from them towards the back. A comfortable table for two and he pulled her chair out in gentlemanly fashion. For some reason, he wondered why he didn't feel the awkward shyness he usually did around women.

Maybe it was because he wasn't interested in her that way? No, that was a lie; he was interested in her that way. Maybe it was because he had her pegged out for Kei, that he would do anything for his friend to find some sort of happiness in this world was forefront on his mind lately.

Seating himself he watched her as she took in the decorations. "So, is this a date detective?" he casually asked her.

She smiled a little and shook her head. "No Sho, this is me apologizing for being an idiot."

His brows rose in surprise, "oh," he said. "In that case, apologize away," he settled down giving her his full attention and waited.

The waitress arrived and the two were distracted, "I'll have a Jim Beam and coke in the tallest glass you've got please," said Gabe.

Sho hit her with a big smile, so he had indeed been right about her needing a drink.

"Scotch on the rocks," he said and waited till the woman walked away.

"Tough day detective?" he enquired.

The brunette rubbed at her face, "the world hates me today Sho! So I kind of hate it back right now."

He laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table. She sat there looking quite miserable, leaning back in her chair fiddling with the buttons on her jacket.

"I owe you an apology," she blurted out. "I was wrong to break into your home and I was wrong for accusing you of being….."

She fidgeted looking quite embarrassed, "of being some sort of blood sucker!" she finished off.

Sho pursed his lips and dipped his head down; he was at a loss of what to say to that just yet. Thankfully, she continued on.

"I also wanted to say thank you for saving my life, I wouldn't be here if you and Kei hadn't, shown up when you did. I feel really bad for what I said to you both, and I know I pissed him off last time I was at your place. I haven't said thank you to either of you yet, and it was rude of me not to!"

They were interrupted by the return of the woman carrying their drinks, she placed the glasses in front of them and turned to Sho, "are these going on your tab Sho?" she asked.

He glanced up at the girl and gave her a lopsided smile, "Yes please."

She walked away to leave the couple to their obviously deep discussion.

Gabe picked up her glass and sucked long and hard on the straw, placing it back down with a satisfied sigh. "I guess what I'd really like to know is why?" she continued on.

Sho's brow's cinched together at the question, "why what?" he asked her and shook his head in confusion.

Gabrielle leant forward and pushed back the stray locks that fell over her eyes in the process.

"Why, did you save us the other night, why were you even there and, how do I repay this….."

Sho caught on to her line of though, "Ahhhhh, let me guess, you want to honor your life debt?" he smugly said.

Gabrielle's face fell as she remembered Lo's words. "I don't understand this and my boss says it's extremely important but I don't know how or what it is, or what I must do about it," she said.

He felt a stab of guilt at her sad look but he didn't intend for it to be a guilt trip.

"I didn't mean it to sound unkind detective," he corrected. "I'd just like to know what your intentions are," he added.

"You seem to think, we might have something to do with the unsavory characters of Mallepa. This line of thought might end badly for us, and, I'm not prepared to let that happen," he gave her a warning look.

The young woman squirmed a bit. "You have no need to worry Sho, you seem to be a protected species as far as my boss is concerned. He's taking this debt thing very serious, and the fact that you're taking out bad guys seems to have given you immunity above the law," the reply was snarky.

He huffed and looked at her in confusion, "and to you, this is a bad thing?" he asked.

Gabe sighed, exasperated at the situation, "no Sho, what you did wasn't a bad thing, but as a detective, I'm having trouble thinking anyone is above the law. It just sits ill with me that's all. I was specifically sent here to find you and now you've saved my life and I'm indebted to you because of it. You're untouchable and I've been told not to even look your way."

Sho was shocked to hear this, he'd thought the police were seriously looking for them and now it seemed that little Gabe was the culprit for that.

Nice to know the police had purposefully looked the other way, well it was an eye opener to say the least.

"I'm sorry you feel that way detective, but you must admit, Mallepa is a better place without these men around. I've never hurt anyone that hasn't been an evil bastard in some way. When we found you in the warehouse, you had a gun to your head and your comrade had just been murdered. These men are very dangerous and they wouldn't hesitate to kill you. You know this after what happened, am I right? I wouldn't like to see end up as another victim of Mallepa!"

The woman let out a loud huff, "Why do I get the feeling everyone is like, we only say this because we care about you Gabe but please, Fuck off back to where you came from!"

Sho shot her a hard look, "that's not what I meant detective. You are vulnerable here, and though you have the police at your back, you're still very much alone."

"Huh," she huffed. "Now isn't that the truth. Don't get me wrong Sho, I wouldn't arrest you for killing those men, I like you both and I can see why you did it. I'm just being miserable for my own reasons here."

Then without even being asked to share her problems, the young woman vented.

"Lo said I'm to leave you guys alone, that, they never would have let a foreigner come in and stop you from doing what you do! Evidently, you make their lives a lot easier and I guess that means less fucking paper work to fill out doesn't it?"

Sho raised his brows at her tirade but he didn't dare interrupt the angry woman.

"Part of me wants to organize a bust on your ass and place you in hand cuffs and another part of me wants to join your posse! I feel like such an idiot to think that this was some god damned blood sucking vigilante and what's more, they encouraged me to believe it! They completely steered me away from you and if it wasn't for that candy addict kid, I would NEVER have found you. I could have been in this fucking town for months, no, years and they would've been laughing their narrow asses off at leading me around by the nose.  
And what's worse, now I know who you are and I'm still screwed. Do you know you Sho, are the reason I'm here. Both you and Kei are the ones responsible for me being in this fucked-up, cock-sucking, shit-hole of a town! And I'm no closer to solving this than before. If anything, I've just had my ass kicked off the playing field altogether. You pair have got a 'get out of jail free card' and I feel like I've just landed on Mayfair and its got a fricken motel on it!"

She held both hands up as if in surrender, "I get it I do, I see why you do it but why the need to drain some idiot of blood so it looks like some damned vampire is kill…."

And then it was as if something suddenly dawned on her and she pointed an accusing finger at Sho.

"FEAR….. You do it to instill fear into these gangs don't you? You want them to think that some supernatural power is after them, you want to scare the shit out of these assholes to a point where the risk is too much even for the likes of them! Sho, you are cunning and a little scary I must say…..NO! I'm not buying that." And the girl looked stricken with indecision.

Again that finger got pointed in his direction, "I saw how Kei moved, that was NOT normal. And tell me Sho, what did you mean when you stopped him kissing me that first night? When you said, she'll turn if you're not careful!' And by the way, that death grip you had in my hair really hurt and you haven't apologized for that yet!" and then she took a much needed breath.

For Sho, he'd never heard such a long winded rant from a woman in his life. She was possessed and now the girl sat there awaiting an answer.

He gave a short chuckle, "I'm sorry Gabe, but, you lost me somewhere between fucking paperwork and putting me in handcuffs!" he teased the woman.

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TBC

Ok, I'd love to hear your thoughts guys and I'll try not to leave it soooo damned long before I post the next chapter.


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